The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday released three persons detained on suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), accused of involvement in the killing of seven Fulani herdsmen.
The Service also said it is reviewing more than 20 cases of persons believed to have been wrongfully detained, as a key part of the reforms being initiated by the new Director General of the secret police, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, reports The Nation.
Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, who posted these on his verified social media handles yesterday, said the trio of Augustine Udemba, Nelson Onyedikachi Udemba, and Ifesinachi Eze have been reunited with their families.
The lawyer described the release as part of the ongoing reforms by the new DSS boss to reposition the Service and make it rule of law-compliant.
This, he said, included reviewing the cases of those in custody, charging them to court where required, and releasing those wrongfully detained.
He stated, “We are currently working on more than 20 cases with the service and thank the DG of the DSS for his commitment to ensuring the right thing is done. We are aware that there are hundreds of Nigerians with similar issues, and we are further appealing to the DG for a speedy process in the ongoing reforms.”
While the lawyer did not state if compensation was or would be paid to the released detainees, security sources hinted to The Nation that, going by the DG’s habit of paying compensation to wrongfully detained persons, it was most likely that the trio would be compensated.
Last week, the DSS DG directed that a businessman who owns a quarry on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, arrested by the Service since 2022 on suspicion of kidnapping, be released and paid N10 million as compensation.
Another outstanding case was that of the payment of N20 million compensation to a Jos-based businessman who was mistakenly shot in the leg by DSS operatives in 2016.
Even after it was established by the DSS that the man was shot in error, and a court awarded the victim N10 million as damages, two DSS DGs refused to pay the victim. Instead, they appealed the judgment.
In May, the new DSS boss not only paid the businessman the N10 million awarded by the court, but he also added another N10 million and free lifetime medical services for the victim.
The DG has promised to speedily review the case of wrongfully detained persons in the DSS custody brought to his notice, saying he wouldn’t mind the source of the information so long as it yields results.
