A Federal High Court in Abuja has authorized the Department of State Services (DSS) to detain 10 suspected terrorists for 60 days as investigations continue into their alleged plan to establish a Boko Haram/ISWAP cell in Osun State.
Justice Emeka Nwite, ruling on the ex-parte motion presented by DSS lawyer Y.I. Umar determined that the application was valid and granted it.
Nwite issued an order allowing the State Security Service (DSS) to detain the respondents for 60 days pending the completion of the investigation. Justice Nwite adjourned the case until March 3 for further mention.
The security agency also named Babakura Mallam Abacha, Muhammed Ciroma, Ali Gambo, Muhammed Umoru, and Muhammed Bundi as the 6th to 10th respondents.
In its motion dated December 18, 2024, and filed on December 20, 2024, the DSS sought a single prayer. The agency’s affidavit, sworn by Yamuje Benye, personnel from the Legal Service Department at the DSS national headquarters, stated that the suspects were apprehended in Ilesa East Local Government Area in Osun.
They were arrested on December 16, 2024, based on reasonable suspicion of their involvement in terrorism. The security agency stated that preliminary investigations revealed the respondents were members of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorist group.
“Intelligence gathered by the applicant indicated that the respondents were planning to establish a Boko Haram/ISWAP cell in Osun State. “The respondents were arrested while undergoing training on how to manufacture and detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” the DSS added.
The agency further alleged that the suspects were former members of the late Abubakar Shekau’s terrorist faction, who fled from Sambisa Forest to Osun due to the ongoing military offensives by the Nigerian Army.
It claimed the respondents were assisting the DSS in identifying other members of the terrorist group who remain at large.
The DSS argued that releasing the respondents at this stage of the investigation would jeopardize efforts to apprehend other members of the terrorist group.
It said the activities of the respondents constitute a potent threat to national security and the corporate existence of Nigeria.
“It is in the interest of justice and national security to grant this application,” it prayed. In a related development, Justice Nwite equally granted an order enabling the DSS to detain Ayomide Akintunde and Nurudeen Adesiyan for a period of 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation.
The judge made the order after Umar, who also appeared for DSS, moved the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1933/V/2024 to the effect. The matter was subsequently adjourned until March 3 for mention.
The DSS, in the affidavit deposed to by Mercy Ebo, averred that the suspects were arrested on Dec. 19, 2024, by the Service Tactical Team at Ajape Lane 3, Modakeke, Ife East LGA of Osun.
The agency stated that the suspects, Ayomide Akintunde and Nurudeen Adesiyan, were transferred to its headquarters following intelligence from a foreign service linking them to a Moroccan terrorist.
The terrorist, currently in Spanish custody, allegedly communicated with the suspects and is under investigation for jihadist activities and plans to carry out terrorist attacks in Nigeria. Preliminary investigation showed that the suspects admitted to using the identified GSM numbers for over ten months.
The agency emphasized that releasing the suspects could jeopardize the investigation, which is now expanding, and that their cooperation is vital in apprehending other gang members.
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