The Department of State Services has filed a “laughable” remand application at the Federal High Court in Abuja, praying the court to nullify the bail earlier granted to four of the 12 detained associates of embattled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.
The motion was filed on Monday beforeJustice Obiora Egwuatu, and the DSS is asking him to cancel the bail granted to Amudat Babatunde, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Oyetunji, and Bamidele Sunday.
The secret police urged the court to remand the four detainees “pending their arraignment during court vacation”.
But reacting, the lawyer to the detainees, Pelumi Olajengbesi, described the remand application by the DSS as “laughable”.
“We have seen the new application filed by the DSS to continue the incarceration of innocent people that have been in their custody for over a month. It is laughable and turned logic upside down that after over a month in the DSS custody, the DSS still needs more days to punish them. I can assure you this will fail,” he said.
Recall that Justice Egwuatu, last Wednesday, admitted the 12 applicants to bail after spending five weeks in DSS custody.
They were arrested on July 1, 2021, by DSS operatives who raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence after midnight.
The DSS lawyer Idowu Awo had told the court the bail of eight of the applicants was not being opposed because investigations revealed that the levels of their involvement in the offence of arms stockpiling and other criminal activities were minimal. But said the agency opposes that of four others, Babatunde, Shittu, Oyetunji and Sunday,
According to him, they should not be granted bail in the interest of justice and national security.
However defence counsel, Olajengbesi asked the court to disregard the argument of the DSS, saying it is unknown to the Nigerian law.
Justice Egwuatu had agreed and granted the 12 detainees bail.
In any case, the perfection of their bail suffered a setback last Friday when their lawyer, Olajengbesi, said he later leanred from the court bail office that 24 sureties will be required, as opposed to four earlier ordered by the court.
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