Arewa Civil Society Organisations have given the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, 48 hours ultimatum to comply with the court and release all individuals in their facility as ordered by the court.
Failure to comply with the ultimatum, the Arewa Civil Society Organisations said they would mobilise members to occupy premises of the yellow house for a peaceful protest demanding the unconditional resignation of Mr Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Its Chairman, Adamu Aminu Musa, in a statement explained, “The Arewa Civil Society Organisations will be compelled to mobilise members under it’s umbrella to come out in numbers and match to occupy premises of the yellow house for a peaceful protest demanding the unconditional resignation of Mr Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).”
It lamented the DSS’ continuous attack on the judiciary by defying several court orders, illegally holding Nigerian citizens in detention, thereby violating their fundamental human rights.
It noted that the secret service on the 10th of June, 2023, arrested Mr Emefiele in Lagos, held him in detention for over a month without charging him to court or releasing him, stressing that after arraigning him before a judge he still remained in detention, and in connection to Emefiele’s case, Alhaji Aminu Yaro and his wife, Sa’adatu Yaro, were also arrested since 12th of July, 2023 and have been in detention too, all against their fundamental human rights.
The statement noted that two separate Judges, Justice Nicholas Oweibo and Justice Edward Okpe have presided over the cases in Lagos and Abuja on 25th of July, 2023 and have both granted bail to Mr Emefiele and his subsequent remand in Nigerian Correctional Service and immediate release of Alhaji Aminu Yaro and his wife but regretted that an order restraining DSS from arresting or administering any inhuman or degrading treatment on the couple in the interim was issued.
Despite legal interventions, the statement stated that the DSS have strong headedly thrown deaf ears to the orders given by the court, refusing to release them, saying that it is a violation of human rights, maltreat and abuse of Nigerian citizens whom they ought to protect.
The statement regretted the dehumanisation of Nigerians by DSS under Bichi as very alarming and disturbing and called for help from all and sundry, the intervention of Amnesty International and National Human Rights Commission to look into Bichi’s activities with the view to saving innocent Nigerians from further degradation.
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