Civil servant wants N500m over DSS unlawful detention

A staff of the Federal Ministry of Education has sued the Department of State Security Services (DSS) before an FCT High Court over his alleged unlawful arrest and detention.

In a motion on notice, the applicant, Stephen Ejembi Ola, through his counsels listed the DSS and its Director-General, Lawal Daura, as 1st and 2nd respondents.

In an affidavit in support of a motion on notice, the applicant’s wife, Mrs Elizabeth Ola, said her husband was arrested on April 27, 2018 by the operatives of the respondents over an allegation of issuance of a “wrong employment letter” to someone.

“All the efforts made by the applicant’s lawyer and family members to see him proved abortive as the respondents are not willing to release the applicant to neither his family nor his lawyer or allowed to be seen while in the custody of the DSS,” the affidavit read.

The applicant is therefore praying the court for a “declaration that his arrest and continuous detention in solitary confinement without any court order is unconstitutional and an infringement of his fundamental human rights.

He also prayed the court for “An order directing the respondents to pay the sum of N500, 000, 000 (Five Hundred Million Naira) jointly/severally to the applicant as aggravated and exemplary damages for the unwarranted continuous detention.

The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge and a date is yet to be fixed for hearing.