From Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
THE Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti Division, yesterday, ordered the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to compensate Afolabi Akanni, member representing Efon Constituency 1 at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, with N5 million over his arrest and detention.
Men of the DSS had on March 4 whisked Akanni away in an alleged invasion of the Ekiti State House of Assembly complex.
He was held at the DSS headquarters in Abuja for 18 days without access to his lawyers and family, in spite of the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti order for his release on March 8.
After a dramatic announcement of his alleged death by the Ekiti State Government, the DSS brought him out to the public, alleging that he was being held for alleged breaches of some security regulations.
The Ekiti lawmaker was eventually released after 18 days of his incarceration.
Counsel to Akanni, Obafemi Adewale, who appeared for him in Court yesterday alongside other members of his legal team, apologised for his physical absence and explained to the presiding judge, Justice Taiwo, that he (Akanni) was still in a hospital outside the state receiving post-traumatic treatment.
While giving his judgment, Justice Taiwo noted that the respondent, DSS, had all along failed to either deny or defend the position, facts and allegations of the applicant, adding that in the eyes of the law: “There is no basis for the court to believe that all that the applicant had alleged against the DSS were not true and that Akanni’s fundamental rights as a citizen of Nigeria, as specified by the principles of the Rule of Law and the African Charter on the Rights of individuals, had been violated by the DSS by arresting and continually detaining him for 18 days illegally.”
The court also granted three out of the four reliefs sought by the applicant’s counsel. The three include: “whether the applicant’s unlawful arrest and detention is justified; whether the said intimidation, torture and continued detention is not a violation of his fundamental human rights and a violation of the Rule of Law, and whether the applicant is not entitled to damages.
Responding to the judgment, Akanni’s counsel, Adewale described it as a courageous demonstration of the willingness and readiness of the judiciary to protect the sanctity of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights of the citizens of the country, adding that: “This is not about Afolabi Akanni, it is not about the Ekiti State House of Assembly, and it is not about Governor Ayodele Fayose. It is about the ordinary man on the streets who has this right but who is now facing an apparent trend all over the federation of a gradual return to the days of impunity when security agencies trudge relentlessly on the rights of the citizens of this country under various guises.