Detained lawmaker: Ekiti faults DSS over service of court order

Ekiti State Government yesterday faulted the claims by the Department of State Security (DSS) that it was yet to receive any court order directing it to release a member of the House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, detained since Mar‎ch 4, this year.

Briefing newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the Special Assistant, New Media and Public Communication to the Governor, Mr Lere Olayinka, said after the state government and Akanni’s lawyers secured an order of a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, for the DSS to release the detainee or bring him to court to show why he must not be released, DSS operatives frustrated the service of the order on them.

Olayinka said after the DSS refused to take the court order on March 14, 2016, the plaintiffs went back to court and secured an order of the court that the DSS be served through newspaper publication.

“Curiously enough, the DSS claimed yesterday that it was yet to see the Federal High Court order directing the immediate release of Hon. Akanni. This is the height of executive rascality and open display of contempt for the rule of law.

“The court order was taken to the Ado-Ekiti office of the DSS on March 14 by the court bailiff, Araromi Ademola, but it was not received. According to the bailiff, the DSS officers said they were acting on order from above.

“On March 16, the Federal High Court ordered that the DSS be served through newspaper publication. Can the DSS claim it did not see that the order was published on pages 36-41 of yesterday’s Tribune newspaper?

“Anyway, since the DSS said it was not aware of any court order that it should release Akanni, we are by this press briefing displaying the court order and we hope the service, which is no doubt turning itself to an arm of the APC, will now respect our court and stop behaving as if it is above the laws of Nigeria,” he said.