Kanu’s lawyer urges DSS to obey court order on detained domestic staff

Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lead counsel to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has urged the Department of State Services (DSS) to obey a court order and immediately release three of his detained domestic workers. At a media briefing on Friday in Abuja, Ejiofor listed the detained personnel as Felix […]

Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lead counsel to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has urged the Department of State Services (DSS) to obey a court order and immediately release three of his detained domestic workers.

At a media briefing on Friday in Abuja, Ejiofor listed the detained personnel as Felix Okonkwo (driver), Okafor Ugochukwu (gardener) and Ikenna Chibuike (steward).

He lamented that the DSS had detained them since June 2021.

According to him, Justice H. A. Nganjiwa of a Federal High Court sitting in Awka had in a judgment of July 22, ordered the release of the staff members.

He said the judgment was on a suit challenging the invasion of his ancestral home by operatives of the Nigerian Police, the DSS, Army and Chukwuka Ofoegbu (aka Ijele speaks) on June 6, 2021.

“They are still being illegally detained in their facility from June 2021 till date. We call on the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation to prevail on the Director-General of the DSS to immediately and unconditionally release my domestic staff.

“We also ask for the immediate compliance with all the terms of the judgment, already served on them,” Ejiofor said.

He said that his workers were taken away following an invasion of his home, where his Personal Assistant, Mr Samuel Okoro was killed and his elder brother, Mr Joel Ejiofor also taken away but later released.

Be said that there is the CCTV footage of how his Oraifite home in Anambra State, was invaded by security operatives leading to the killing of Okoro.

He said that the footage also showed the
operatives driving a red Camry car out of his house which he said belonged to him and which was later set ablaze.

He said that the judgment by Justice Nganjiwa also ordered the security operatives to pay a compensation of N107,000m to Ejiofor.

The judgement listed the Police, Inspector-General of Police, DSS, Director-General DSS, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff and Chukwuka Ofoegbu as those to pay the compensation.

He said, “The sum is to cover the destroyed Toyota Camry car with registration No: YAB60CB in the sum of N5 million, being the value of the purchase price.

“N100 million as general and exemplary damages on compensation for violation of his fundamental rights. N2 million as cost for filing and prosecuting the suit.”

Ejiofor lamented that to conceal evidence, the corpse of Okoro was callously burnt in his Camry Toyota to ashes by the security operatives.

He however, thanked the Federal High Court for the judgment delivered in his suit marked FHC/AWK/CS/56/2021 adding that the court verdict had set the record straight as against the denial by the security operatives.

The lawyer claimed that he committed no offense other than defending Nnamdi Kanu in the charges brought against him by the Federal Government.