BREAKING: Department Of State Services Finally Bows To Pressure, Releases 5 #BuhariMustGo Activists Arrested At Dunamis Church
The five activists detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre in Abuja have finally been released.
The activists were released on Tuesday, 30 days after their arrest and imprisonment in the DSS’s custody, according to SaharaReporters.
The five had filed a contempt suit against Yusuf Bichi, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), for breaching the court’s bail order.
On Monday, their lawyer, Tope Tomekun, filed the complaint in a Federal High Court in Abuja on their behalf.
On Monday, July 26, Justice Obiora Egwuatu granted bail to five activists who had been imprisoned by the DSS since July 4, 2021 for wearing T-shirts with the slogan #BuhariMustGo to the Church.
The DSS DG could face jail time, according to the court notice.
On July 4, the DSS detained Ben Mannaseh, Emmanuel Larry, Victor Udoka Anene, a blind saxophonist, Samuel Gabriel Iwatonaiye, and Henry Nwodohave for wearing #BuhariMustGo branded shirts on the church premises in Abuja.
Following their arbitrary arrest and detention, the activists sued the DSS, the church’s senior pastor, Paul Enenche, and others.
They also requested that the court give each of them N10 million in damages for the infringement of their basic human rights.
The judge, Justice Anwuli Chikere, had ordered the DSS to release the applicants with immediate effect in his ruling.
The activists also filed Form 48 against the DSS chief, requesting that he be committed to prison until he fulfilled the court’s decision.
The “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court,” as seen by SaharaReporters on Form 48, is captioned “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court.”
“Take notice that unless you obey the directions included in this endorsed order,” it says in part (herein with endorsed). You will be charged with contempt of court and may be sentenced to prison.”
Instead of following the initial order, the lawless secret agency swiftly arraigned the activists on accusations of disruption of public peace in order to get a face-saving reason for keeping them in detention, according to SaharaReporters.
The defendants pled not guilty to the accusations when they were brought before the magistrate for arraignment on Wednesday.
Their lawyer then asked for their release on bail.
The magistrate, Mohammed Zubairu, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N500,000 with a guarantee each, but the DSS operatives swiftly drove the activists away before the bail terms could be perfected.
“We want to thank everyone who stood firmly by these young men and the #Revolutionnow movement during their unjust incarceration-torture and dehumanisation in the hands of Dr. Paul Enenche’s church security before they were handed over to the DSS,” human rights activist Omoyele Sowore said after their release.
“The lawsuit in pursuit of justice for the five revolutionaries will continue at the Federal High Court and administrative sanctions will be pursued against the Magistrate that ignored a superior court order ordering their release as well as the three DSS lawyers who flagrantly ignored the higher court orders to arraign them before the Magistrate.
“Their lawyers will also pursue a contempt of court proceeding against the DG of DSS, Yusuf Bichi Mogaji in coming days. Special thanks to the lead lawyer in the case, Barrister Tope Tomekun and his team for a marvellous job challenging the authoritarian regime relentlessly!”
