Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has decried the alleged insult on his personality and his lawyer, Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) during his visit to Nnewi in Anambra State at the weekend.
Fani-Kayode said he had gone to Nnewi in company of his lawyer and others to deliver a public lecture organised by the Anaedoonline to mark its first anniversary but for the DSS operatives to prevent his lawyer from gracing the occasion.
He said the operatives of the DSS made efforts to also prevent him from attending the occasion but for his resilience, saying that his lawyer was however prevented from gracing the occasion.
In a statement released by the former Minister, he claimed that the action of the DSS operatives was against Ejiofor’s fundamental human right as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, the DSS operatives had threatened to seal up the venue of the ceremony had Ejiofor insisted to attend the ceremony with him.
He said “They said they had orders from Abuja to stop him from attending because, apart from being my lawyer, he is also the lawyer to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB. I was shocked. This was a clear case of not just persecution but also guilt by association. I wondered whether being a lawyer to my friend and brother Mazi Nnamdi Kanu or to IPOB was now a crime.”
“The whole thing was designed to provoke me to anger and not go on with the show. I saw through that and I was not prepared to give them the pleasure. By their actions the DSS not only violated the civil liberties and human rights of my in-law, lawyer, friend and brother, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, but they also proved that our government is tyrannical, insidious, cowardly, insensitive and intolerant of opposition and dissent. They just wanted to ruin the whole occasion for no just cause,” he said.
He queried further that “What is it that scared them so much about Ejiofor’s prescence? He is a distinguished, responsible, dedicated, loyal, diligent and hardworking lawyer and proud son of Anambra State and he was one of many that welcomed me to his state with so much enthusiasm, love and joy. Is that a crime? Is the DSS so petty? Do they have nothing better to do? Worse still their shameful and overzealous behaviour only made them appear to be far more delusional, unreasonable, weak and paranoid than I already believed them to be.”
He said he would continue to fight for the interest of the masses and defend the defenseless Nigerians, even as he vowed to continue to fight against bad governance and tyranny in the country, stressing that he would not be intimidated by the actions of the government.
