The Department of State Services, DSS had this afternoon discharged three persons whom were wrongfully arrested and detained on the suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), and involvement in the killing of seven Fulani cattle herders.
Similarly, the secret police is also reviewing over 20 other cases of persons believed to have been wrongfully accused and detained in their custody, as part of the reforms being initiated by the new Director General of the secret police, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi.
An Abuja-based human rights lawyer, who is also an activist Mr. Deji Adeyanju made the disclosure via his verified social media handles saying the new DSS boss is a respecter of human right.
According to Adeyanju, the trio includes; Augustine Udemba, Nelson Onyedikachi Udemba, and Ifesinachi Eze, who were arrested and wrongfully detained on the allegation of involvement in IPOB/ESN activities and a gruesome killing of seven herders in the east, were released yesterday and that they had since been reunited with their families.
The lawyer described the initiative as part of the ongoing reforms by the new DSS boss to reposition the Service and through making it a rule of law- compliant institution, and which will include reviewing the cases of those in custody, while parading whom they feel has a case to answer to court where necessary.
He stated, “We are currently working on more than 20 cases with the service and thank the DG of the DSS for his commitment to ensuring the right thing is done,” adding, “we are aware that there are hundreds of Nigerians with similar issues, and we are further appealing to the DG for a speedy process in the ongoing reforms.”
While the lawyer did not state if compensation was or would be paid to the released detainees, however, an inside source confided that, going by the disposition of the present DG’s habit of paying compensation to wrongfully detained suspects, it was most likely the trio would be compensated.
He added, Just last week, the DSS DG directed that a businessman who owns a quarry on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway and was arrested by the Service since 2022 on the suspicion of kidnapping, be released and was paid N10 million as compensation. It was reported that he might get more from the DG.
In a related development, a payment of N20 million compensation was paid to a Jos-based businessman who was mistakenly shot in the leg by DSS operatives during one of their operation in 2016. After establishing the man was shot in error, a court awarded the victim a damage in sum of N10 million. The former DSS boss appealed the judgment instead.
Until in May this year, the new DSS boss not only paid the businessman the N10 million awarded by the court, he also added another N10 million and free lifetime medical services for the victim.
The DG has promised to speedily review the case of wrongfully detained persons in the DSS custody brought to his notice, saying he wouldn’t mind the source of the information so long as it yields results.