The Department of State Services (DSS) has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke the bail granted to four of the 12 detained associates of embattled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.
The remand application, with motion no: FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2021, was filed by the DSS lawyer, Idowu Awo, on Monday.
The DSS lawyer urged Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, to cancel the bail granted to Amudat Babatunde, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Oyetunji, and Bamidele Sunday “pending their arraignment during court vacation”.
Reacting, the lawyer to the detainees, Pelumi Olajengbesi, described the remand application by the DSS as “laughable”.
“We have seen the new application filed by the DSS to continue the incarceration of innocent people that have been in their custody for over a month. It is laughable and turned logic upside down that after over a month in the DSS custody, the DSS still needs more days to punish them. I can assure you this will fail,” he said.
Justice Egwuatu had on 4 August granted bail to all the detained aides of Igboho following their institution of a suit before the court.
DSS operatives had on July 1 raided Igboho’s residence in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and arrested 12 of his supporters after they failed to capture the Yoruba Nation agitator.
The arrested persons were subsequently moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they have been in detention.
In a joint suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2021, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on July 7, 2021, the detained persons through their counsel, Olajengbesi, sought an order of the court “mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants” to enable the court “inquire into the circumstances constituting grounds of their arrest and detention” since July 1, 2021.
They also prayed for an order of the court mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants before the court and “show cause as to why the applicants should not be granted bail in accordance with the provision of section 32 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and other extant laws in Nigeria”.
The DSS lawyer, Awo, told the court that he was not opposing the bail of eight of the applicants.
He, however, opposed the bail of the remaining four applicants – Babatunde, Shittu, Oyetunji, and Sunday – saying that they should not be granted bail in the interest of justice and national security.
He also stated that their investigation was currently ongoing and has not been concluded.
Justice Egwuatu in his ruling, however, held that no charge has been preferred against the applicants and that they have been in detention since they were arrested.
He said the applicants have a right to liberty and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
