DSS to appeal judgement on El-Rufai

Nigeria secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) said on Tuesday that it would appeal the judgment of the Federal High Court, Awka in which it was ordered to apologise and pay N2 million to a former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nasir el-Rufai as damages for restricting his movement during 2013 Anambra State gubernatorial election.

Marilyn Ogar, spokesperson for the Service said in a statement that it was necessary to appeal the judgement because the Judge may have overlooked some facts in arriving at his decision.

Ogar noted that the 1999 Constitution empowered the service to detain any suspect for not more than 48 hours before recourse to a court of law.

She argued that if the power to detain suspect and investigate suspects is taken away, the Department would not be different from any other a ministry.

“As a responsive Service, we hold the Judiciary and its sanctity in high esteem, but when you disagree with certain pronouncements of the court, you have the right to appeal and in this case, we will appeal.

“The instrument setting up the Service and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended gives the Service statutory powers to detain and investigate any suspect for not more than 48 hours before recourse to a Court of Law. In this instance, the complainant was not confined or ‘detained’ for more than two hours.

“If we cannot intercept, detain and investigate, then we would, with due respect, be operating like any Ministry of the Federal Government.”

The DSS spokesperson also said the DSS did not restrict movement during the elections as claimed by El-Rufai.

According to her, it was the duty of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to take measures necessary for the smooth conduct of any election and it was the Commission that deemed it proper to restrict movement during voting hours.