The activists namely; Ben Mannaseh; Emmanuel Larry; Victor Udoka Anene; a blind Saxophonist, Samuel Gabriel Iwatonaiye and Henry Nwodo, who were arrested and detained for several days because they wore a t-shirts #BuhariMustGo stated these through their lawyer, Barrister Tope Temokun, who had dragged the DSS Director General, AGF and Pastor Enenche before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the order of the court to declare their arrest and detention as illegal.
The Director-General of the Department of State Services, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Senior Pastor of the Dunamis church, Paul Enenche have not yet filed their defence in the case brought against them by five Nigerian youth activists over their illegal arrest, detention and violation of their fundamental human rights.
The activists namely; Ben Mannaseh; Emmanuel Larry; Victor Udoka Anene; a blind Saxophonist, Samuel Gabriel Iwatonaiye and Henry Nwodo, who were arrested and detained for several days because they wore a t-shirts #BuhariMustGo stated these through their lawyer, Barrister Tope Temokun, who had dragged the DSS Director General, AGF and Pastor Enenche before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the order of the court to declare their arrest and detention as illegal.
SaharaReporters had reported on August 1, 2021 that five activists arrested at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre for wearing #BuhariMustGo T-shirts by the Department of State Services (DSS) spent 28 days in detention as the secret police continued to violate court order on their release.
SaharaReporters had also reported that Justice Anwuli Chikere of Federal High Court while ruling on the ex parte motion filed by their counsel ordered the DSS to immediately release the activists from detention.
The DSS was thereafter served the court order by the court bailiff on the same day.
It had been reported that despite a release order from the Federal High Court, the DSS filed charges at a lower Magistrates' Court in Abuja against the five activists which also granted them bail.
However, on Monday October 16, 2023 over two years after the activists filed a fundamental rights enforcement, the court had yet to determine the case.
Meanwhile, the activists through their lawyer, Temokun, filed an application for the presiding judge to rescue himself from the case.
Addressing journalists and supporters of activists shortly after the court session in Abuja, the counsel disclosed that the defendants in the case had yet to file their defence.
The Counsel said, "The case that came up today is the popular case of Dunamis Five. The activists were arrested in 2021 in Dunamis church. We brought an application that year to enforce their rights. They were still in custody when we brought the application for them to be released and we were so fortunate the first day we applied before the court they were given an ex parte order for the DSS to release them.
"We have to fight back to get them out, subsequently, they were still in court with their applications but when Nnamdi Kanu was brought to court on the 26 of June 2021, Omoyele Sowore was in court that same day and that was the date the Dunamis five were brought to court, so they were in the court too. And Omoyele Sowore was arrested at the gate; he was denied entry to the court and we had to file an application."
He explained that in such case when they bring an application before the court on some infractions by security agencies, it is to establish jurisprudence values to the essence of human rights. "Human rights may be in the Constitution but if you don't bring applications to give life to it, it is just going to be like deadwood. So we brought that application; when the court was going to give judgement in that application, the court delved into the matters of Dunamis five.
"The court made pronouncements on the case of the Dunamis Five. Why would the Dunamis five be arrested? They were arrested because they put on T-shirts bearing 'Buhari Must Go' and the DSS arrested them and they were brought before the court to challenge the legality of that arrest but in the case of Omoyele Sowore when the court gave judgment the court determined that application. The court made it known that the actions of the Dunamis five, the five activists wearing Buhari Must Go shirts will raise reasonable suspicion in the mind of an ordinary man that a crime is to be committed and that the police have the right to arrest people involved in that kind of action. So we feel the case we have is before the court and we are still hoping that the court will say they are wrong to have arrested these youths but if that judgement is still valid which it is now; that means the court cannot go back after it had already ruled in Omoyele Sowore vis Nigeria police force that wearing Buhari T-shirts must go will raise suspicion in the mind of a reasonable man and police are liable to come in the court cannot say something different in this case again.
"So, if we are going to be in court for the next year; are we not supposed to be coming to court with confidence and hope? We think the matter should be taken before another judge. So that is why we brought this application for my lord to disqualify himself so that another judge will hear the matter. If the case is against us we just go and know we have lost the case, not we will be thinking Ah; because he had already said it in that case."
He added that none of the counsel to the parties - Eneche, AGF and the DSS – had filed any defence, saying “my lord said he has not read the application."