Human rights lawyer, Barrister Festus Keyamo has taken-on the Lagos State command of the State Security Service over what he referred to as high handedness and abuse of office on the part of some men of the service.
According to a petition signed by Tarfa Mark Anata of Festus Keyamo Chambers and titled, unlawful harassment, intimidation and abuse of power by the office of State Security Service, the brilliant lawyer is charging the service on the need to be more careful, most especially on matters that are not their jurisdiction.
We gathered reliably that, some overzealous men of the service are said to be using the apparatus of the State Security Service to frustrate investigative efforts of the police authority over a matter that’s rather purely, a domestic brouhaha.
Representing one of its clients, a topflight estate development and property consultant, CMB Building Maintenance and Investment company Limited, Barrister Festus Keyamo is calling on the SSS director to call his men to order and let sleeping dog lies in a mater that doesn’t concern their office.
Facts pieced together have it that, CMB, the company in charge of Pearl Gardens, Lekki, Lagos had informed the police authority over an allegation of breach of peace, assault and malicious damage of some troublesome residents of the serene estate, Pearl Gardens with a view to checkmating their excesses but instead, the residents who have been bragging to know people in high places got some State Security Service men involved to stall police investigation.
These residents, whose names are given as Mrs. Ajayi Obe, Mrs. Francis Adesuyi, Mrs. Nkiru Ifediora, Mrs. Joseph Upah, Mrs. Kayode Adeboye, Mrs. Ben Fakrogha, Mrs. Jude Akhaba, and Lola Mosaku, whom we gathered are in the habits of causing civil disobedient among others have been terrorising the neighbourhood with the help of their SSS contacts.
And as if that’s not enough, these people have not just shunned police invitation but have been using their contacts within the SSS to harass, intimidate and cow the estate managers, CMB.
It is on this premise that, Keyamo chambers has written a strong worded petition to the director of SSS, Abuja to call his men to order, investigate the matter and allow the police authority to do their civic duty, more so in a matter that’s purely civil with pending law suits.
‘’The action of the officer and men of the State Security Service is a calculated and orchestrated ploy to frustrate and arm-twist the office of the Inspector General of Police from carrying out its constitutional duties of maintaining law and order as the matter in question has nothing to do with national security’’, the petition stated.