The Department of State Service (DSS) has been authorized by a Federal High Court in Abuja to hold 10 suspected terrorists for 60 days while the investigation is ongoing. The terrorists had intended to establish a Boko Haram/ISWAP cell in Osun.
In a decision on the ex-parte motion filed by Y.I. Umar, a DSS attorney, Justice Emeka Nwite determined that the application was meritorious and was, thus, allowed.
“An order is hereby made enabling the State Security Service (aka DSS)/applicant to detain the respondents for sixty (60) days pending the conclusion of the investigation,” he decleared.
The matter was postponed until March 3 for mention by Justice Nwite.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the DSS identified Adamu Abubakar (also known as Abu Aisha), Babagana Bashuli, Muhammad Adam, and Mustapha Abacha Katuru Muhammad as the first through fifth respondents in the motion ex-parte marked: FHC)ABJ/CS/1942/V/2024
Additionally, Babakura Mallam Abacha, Ali Gambo, Muhammad Ciroma, Muhammad Umoru, and Muhammad Bundi were ranked sixth through tenth by the security agency, accordingly.
In the motion submitted on December 20, 2024, but dated December 18, 2024, the DSS requested one prayer.
Yamuje Benye, an employee of the DSS who works in the Legal Service Department at the national headquarters, testified in an affidavit that the suspects were taken into custody in Ilesa East LGA in Osun.
According to the report, they were taken into custody on December 16, 2024, after it was reasonably suspected that they were involved in terrorism.
According to security outfit, the initial investigation showed that the respondents belonged to the terrorist organization Boko Haram/ISWAP, “Intelligence at the disposal of the applicant revealed that the respondents were planning to launch a Boko Haram /ISWAP cell in Osun State; “That the respondents were arrested while undergoing training on how to manufacture and detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” it said.
According to the agency, the suspects were members of the terrorist organization led by the late Abubakar Shekau, who fled Sambisa Forest to Osun after the Nigerian Army launched a series of attacks against them.
According to the report, the responders are helping the applicant track for other terrorists who are still at large.
The DSS claims that it will be difficult for the applicant to apprehend further terrorist organization members if the respondents are released at this point in the preliminary investigation.
According to the report, the respondents’ actions pose a serious risk to Nigeria’s corporate life and national security.
“It is in the interest of justice and national security to grant this application,” it prayed.
In a related development, after Umar, who also represented DSS, moved the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1933/V/2024 to that effect, Justice Nwite also granted an order allowing the DSS to detain Ayomide Akintunde and Nurudeen Adesiyan for 60 days until the investigation was completed.
The matter was then postponed until March 3 for mention. According to the DSS’s affidavit given by Mercy Ebo, the suspects were arrested on December 19, 2024, by the Service Tactical Team at Ajape Lane 3, Modakeke, Ife East LGA of Osun.
An intelligence assessment from a foreign intelligence service that connected them to Moroccan terrorists led to their subsequent transfer to the agency’s headquarters, according to the agency.
The intelligence report and preliminary investigation showed that a Moroccan terrorist who is presently being held by the Spanish National Police Service spoke with Nurudeen ADESIYAN and Ayomide AKINTUNDE (F) on GSM numbers 08168542908 and 08168359934, respectively.
“That the Moroccan terrorist is being investigated for making jihadist publications and for acquisition of firearms with the intent of conducting terrorist attacks against identified targets in Nigeria,” it said.
The suspects acknowledged ownership of the identified GSM numbers, which they had been using for over ten (10) months, according to the preliminary inquiry.
The agency claims that since the probe has taken on a broader scope, the respondents’ dissemination at this time might compromise it.
According to the DSS, a comprehensive investigation of the suspects was necessary to make sure they posed no security risks to Nigeria or the rest of the globe.
It stated that the application had to be approved since the suspects were providing crucial information that might result in the arrest of other gang members who were still at large.