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Two Weeks After Illegal Arrest, Lawless Department Of State Services Detains 12 South-Easterners Travelling For Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial

It is two weeks after their illegal arrest on June 26 by DSS officials at Lokoja, Kogi State.

The 12 South-Easterners who were arrested by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), while travelling from Ebonyi State for the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in Abuja, are still in detention.

 

It is two weeks after their illegal arrest on June 26 by DSS officials at Lokoja, Kogi State. 

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The victims: Wisdom Ezike, Kenneth Ojima, Chinedu Nwoba, Igwe Sampson, David Ogbonnaya, Aja Joseph, Barrister Awoke, Chinoso Oyibe, Eze Joseph, Okezie Fortune, and two drivers have been held incommunicado by the DSS operatives since the said date.

 

Calls to their mobile telephone lines have consistently indicated that the lines are unreachable, so the present condition of the young men is unknown.

 

”They committed no offence. They were heading to Abuja to attend Nnamdi Kanu’s trial. They have been arrested and illegally detained in Lokoja,” a source stated. 

 

DSS operatives violently dispersed people who had come to show solidarity with Kanu during his trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

 

This was after only 10 media houses were accredited to cover the proceedings.

 

The secret police also arrested and later released human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, among other Nigerians, including journalists at the venue.

 

The DSS, however, failed to produce Kanu in court and Justice Binta Nyako adjourned the trial to October 21.

 

When the matter was called up, the prosecution counsel, M. B. Abubakar, had informed the court that the matter was slated for hearing and that they were ready to continue.

 

But Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, informed the court that there was a pending application before the court to transfer Kanu from the custody of the DSS to a correctional centre.

 

Justice Nyako stated that the trial could not continue in the absence of the IPOB leader since he was not present in court.

 

The court adjourned to October 21, 2021, for a continuation of the hearing.