Court orders DSS to release detained APC staff

Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a federal high court in Lagos on Monday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to release the staff of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its custody.

On November 22, the DSS raided the data centre of APC in Ikeja, Lagos, alleging that voter cards were being cloned there.

Chinedu Atuche, the party’s staff, as well as Fayemi Olaposi, Augustine Onuchukwu, Ebun Ilori and Esther Enemy were arrested in the raid and detained.

Reacting to the development, APC described the DSS as “a shameless apologist of the PDP” and called for an investigation into the raid. It said its computers (one pictured) were also destroyed.

APC followed its statement with a suit against the DSS.

Yunusa had earlier ordered the DSS to bring the detained APC staff before the court, which it failed to do.

He therefore ruled that the continued detention of the party’s staff was unlawful, as the detainees had spent more than 48 hours in detention. In addition, he issued an order restraining the DSS from re-arresting the APC staff.

“The arrest and detention of the applicants for the purpose of investigations is a clear violation of Section 35 of the constitution,” Yinusa said.

“The remand order, whether valid or invalid, has exceeded the time limit permitted as reasonable by the section of the constitution. The same arrest and detention of the applicants is illegal and they are hereby released.”