Court orders DSS, police to stop Yahaya Bello from arresting Kogi ADC guber candidate

The Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of the Police have been ordered by Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja to prevent Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello from arresting or detaining Hon. Leke Abejide, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the governorship candidate against the DSS, the Police, and Bello, they are prohibited from inviting the candidate, arresting or detaining him, or threatening his life or property in any way.

On Wednesday in Abuja, while deciding on an ex-parte appeal filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Sammie Somiari on behalf of the governorship candidate, the judge issued restraining orders.

The DSS, Police, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps were all tasked with guarding the politician’s Abuja, Kogi State, and nationwide assets in the enrolment order signed by Justice Mohammed.

The ex-parte motion with the citation FHC/ABJ/CS/1248/2023 was filed by a candidate for governor who was seeking protection for his right to life, personal liberty, due process of law, peaceful assembly, and association.

He also wanted the protections against discrimination and freedom of movement guaranteed by Articles 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, and 43 of the Constitution of 1999 and other human rights statutes.

He claimed that since he emerged as a candidate for governor, Governor Yahaya Bello had gotten nervous and threatened to have him arrested and incarcerated.

Abejide further said that the governor’s end goal was to force him out of the governorship race on November 11, 2023 so that his hand-picked candidate from the All Progressives Congress (APC) could be elected.

After hearing the senior counsel’s arguments and reviewing the submitted evidence, Justice Mohammed issued restraining orders prohibiting the respondents from arresting, detaining, or harassing the applicant awaiting the outcome of his substantive litigation.

Until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit, “an Order is hereby made restraining the respondents, their agents, servants, and anybody acting through or under them from arresting, inviting, detaining, or threatening the applicant’s life and properties.”

Until the main suit is heard and decided, the judge ruled, “An Order is hereby made compelling the 2nd – 8th respondents to immediately provide maximum security to the applicant in Abuja FCT, Kogi State and elsewhere in Nigeria.”

The applicant must now serve all relevant processes in this litigation upon the defendants, as directed by the judge.

Yahaya Bello, Governor of Kogi State; the Nigeria Police Force; the Inspector General of Police; the Commissioner of Police for Kogi State; the Department of State Security; the Director General of the Department of State Security; the Director of the Department of State Security for Kogi State; and the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps; are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The judge then set September 20 as the date for the hearing of the main claims.

In the substantive suit filed on his behalf by Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, the ADC governorship candidate alleged that the Kogi governor had violated his rights to life and dignity by hounding, harassing, intimidating, and threatening to arrest, kill, and detain him using armed officers, militias, and thugs.

He further claimed that Governor Yahaya Bello’s threats to kill, kidnap, and detain him in addition to attacking his vehicles, homes, and workplaces were an infringement on his rights to freedom of assembly and association, as well as his right to life, dignity, and personal liberty.

Abejide asked the court to prohibit the respondents from taking any further action to harm him or his property, including arrest, abduction, detention, harassment, intimidation, shooting, or threatening.

In addition to a public apology, the ADC gubernatorial candidate demanded that Governor Yahaya Bello pay him N2 billion for the alleged grave violation of his fundamental human rights.

The plaintiff claimed in a 27-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the originating summons that he has been under siege in his Abuja home ever since he emerged as a leading candidate in the Kogi State Governorship race.

He said going to the IGP with his objections and protests had gotten him nowhere, so he had to resort to legal action to ensure the safety of his loved ones and possessions.

Infostride News recalls that on July 13, another candidate for governor of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November governorship election in Kogi State, Murtala Ajaka, also complained of threats against his life, and the same court ordered security agencies in the country to provide maximum protection.