It was learnt that the judge had warned them against the arrest on the court premises
The Department of State Services (DSS) personnel have reportedly invaded the Ogun State High Court in the Ilaro area of the state and arrested two defendants against the instruction of the judge.
It was learnt that the judge had warned them against the arrest on the court premises.
The two defendants identified as Alhaji Isiaka Fatai and Samuel Oyero were being tried in a suit marked HCP/IC/2023 - State Vs Awode Oladosu & 13 others.
Fatai and Oyero were being tried in a case presided over by Justice A.A. Shobayo, bordering on an alleged arson filed by one Chief Akeem Adigun, also known as Socopao against Fatai, Oyero and 12 others.
However, there was panic on the court premises on Tuesday when the DSS operatives stormed the place and forcibly took away the defendants.
Kehinde Bamiwola, counsel for Isiaka, alleged that the DSS operatives physically assaulted his client.
“Alhaji Isiaka Fatai was beaten, slapped, man-handled, rough-handled and molested,” he said.
Also confirming the incident, the Principal Registrar of the Court and Sectional Head of the High Court, Ilaro, Omololu Olusanya, described the action of the DSS operatives as shocking and disrespectful to the rule of law.
Daily Trust quoted Olusanya as saying, “They still went ahead and did the act to the extent that they assaulted one of our staff members, Mrs. Fadina, while doing that act. It’s a very sad issue that caused a lot of noise within the court premises.
“It was from the source that we heard they were DSS agents. If anybody sees them, one would think they were armed robbers.
“They did not wear anything that identified them as DSS, but they came to my lord this morning and said they had some people to arrest. That was when we knew they were DSS officers.
“They approached the judge before the court session began. The honorable judge advised them that if they wanted to make an arrest, it must not be done within the court premises.
“They could stay outside and do whatever they wanted, but they refused that advice and carried out the arrest within the premises.”
SaharaReporters called DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, on the phone to get his reaction to the action of the operatives but he did not answer his calls. He also did not reply to a message sent to his mobile phone.