OSUN POLL: 15 DETAINEES SUE DSS, OTHERS; DEMAND N1.5BN DAMAGES BY AYOBAMI AGBOOLA Fifteen out of hundred persons arrested, detained and harassed during the August 9 governorship election in the State of Osun by security personnel have sued the Department of Security Services (SSS), Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police Force for unlawful detention. An application for a court order enforcing their Fundamental Right, was filed before a Federal High Court in Osogbo by the detainees, who prayed for an order directing the respondents to pay N100, 000,000 each as damages, and tender public apology to each of them. The plaintiff are; High Chief Sola Ogunsanya, Isaac Onajide, Babatola Segun, Ogungbangbe Suliman, Obayemi Ayo, Awopetu Odunayo, Esther Olamijulo and eight others. The four reliefs sought by the applicants are contained in an originating summon pursuant to Section 34, 35 and 46 of the 1999 constitution and Article 5, 6, 12, 13 and 20 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights, Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; Order II Rule 1, 2 and 3 of the Fundamental Right (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009. The applicants in the first relief were seeking the declaration of the court, that their arrest and detention was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and in violation of their right to personal liberty. They also prayed the court to declare that their arrest and manhandling by officers of the respondents constitute a violation of their freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. While arguing that their arrest and detention prevented them from exercising their franchise in the August 9 poll and vote for candidates of their choice. In an affidavit sworn to, in support of the application, one of the applicants, High Chief Sola Ogunsanya, who is the Regent of Iloko-Ijesa and a registered voter said that he was arrested on August 8 by armed officers of the respondents in his house, while other detainees were arrested on August 9 at Iloko-Ijesa and Ijebu-Jesa. He claimed that after the arrest, himself, and two other applicants were taken to the DSS office in Osogbo and Iloko police post where they were detained, stripped naked and ordered to lie down for several hours in the open without allowing them access to their family. According to him, we were beaten, tortured and humiliated, as some of the officers were cursing, abusing and querying their effrontery to support the candidature of Governor Rauf Aregbesola who was the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate at the election and the winner of the poll. He said throughout the period of their detention, they were not accused of committing any offence, except supporting Aregbesola, only to be released at about 6pm of August 9 without being charged to court for any offence. Bioreports correspondent reports that the statement of fact filed along with the application, the detainees argued upon were based on a frivolous allegation of loitering as later disclosed by the DSS Spokeperson, Mrs Marilyn Ogar in an interview on Channels Television, saying such offence in unknown to law. Their inhuman treatment without any order of court or legal basis whatsoever, they claimed, constitute gross violation of the applicants rights under section 34 and 35 of the constitution. In the issues formulated by counsel to the applicants, it was argued that the aim of the arrest was to terrorize the applicants and restrict their movement in an atmosphere dominated by sheer state terror and complete impunity which is totally unjustifiable in law. Ogunsanya, however, said the illegal arrest and detention, was against the order of an Osogbo High Court restraining the respondents from engaging in arbitrary arrest of members of APC, and said, unless the appropriate sanction is applied, such harassment, intimidation, detention, and crass impunity against other members of the society and the applicants violated rights would be without remedy. 1 hr · Public
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:20:49 +0000
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