“There is no provision unless a crime is being committed in the night; you cannot go there and arrest. People were arrested and abducted at 2:00 a.m., the governor of the state was not aware”
Outraged by the state organized bloody raid of the Ibadan home of Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana, has blasted the Department of State Services (DSS) for acting like “armed robbers”.
Criticizing the July 1 raid on Igboho’s home by the operatives, the Lagos human rights lawyer said they acted outside the laws of the land.
Falana also noted that the DSS-led security forces through their midnight operation had embarrassed the state governor, who was not aware of their presence in the state.
“There is no law in Nigeria that allows you to arrest somebody in the dead of the night when you are not planning a coup and you are not an armed robber.
“There is no provision unless a crime is being committed in the night; you cannot go there and arrest.
“Take Ibadan, for instance, the invasion of the home of Igboho happened in the night, and for all-day, everybody was wondering who did (what), and that seven people were killed.
“People were arrested and abducted at 2:00 a.m., the governor of the state was not aware,” Falana said on Channels TV monitored by Persecondnews.
On July 1, the DSS operatives had stormed the home of Igboho and announced that they killed two people in his house and declared him wanted.
The DSS claimed he was planning an “insurrection against the country.”
For the department’s malfeasance, Falana said: “Now, Sunday Adeyemo has said he didn’t have any gun in his house. Yet, the DSS paraded guns and other ammunition.
“All the controversies would have been unnecessary if the DSS had behaved like a modern, civilized agency.”
The legal icon pointed out that the dead of the night operations of the DSS violating human rights with impunity in a democracy smacks of the dark days of military jackboots in the country.
“These are very dangerous legacies of military dictatorship in our country,” Falana declared.
Meanwhile, Igboho’s lawyers have filed a suit against the federal government and the DDS for killing his associates, violating his rights and vandalizing his properties including exotic cars and the house.
He is demanding a compensation of N500 million and an apology from the authorities.
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