The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Kola Oluwawole, has again accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of deceiving Nigerians over the detention of a lawmaker, Hon. Afolabi Akanni, saying it has reneged on its promise to release the suspect on Saturday.
A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Stephen Gbadamosi, yesterday noted that if it was not a case of political vendetta and misuse of state’s machinery , the DSS would have adhered to its promise to release the incarcerated lawmaker.
Oluwawole said it was rather incongruous, illegal and undemocratic for the DSS to have promised that the service was already contemplating releasing Akanni before the House staged a protest to its state office along New Iyin Road on Thursday only for the lawmaker to still be in custody of DSS till yesterday.
“If you can’t charge him to court, then, you have no reason under the law to continue to hold him. He has been in your custody for close to three weeks now, yet, you have not proffered any charge against him.
What kind of democracy is this? “On Thursday, the Director of DSS in Ekiti State promised us that they were already contemplating to release Akanni, and that latest, by Saturday, he would be released. Why is he not with his family now? We forced them to show him on television to know whether he is alive or not.
“They showed him. Is that man alive? He needs immediate medical attention. You have denied him access to doctor, family, lawyer and medication in about three weeks. Even a common criminal has right to live until otherwise decided by the court,” the speaker said.
He added: “People should not toy with human lives that they cannot create, in the name of politics. If anybody has done anything wrong,
take him/her to court. Let the court be the last arbiter.
“You can’t, as DSS, be the judge in a case you institute. DSS has proved partisanship again, as it promised to release Akanni latest on Saturday and it failed to do so. It is obvious that there is ulterior political motive in this.
