Arewa lawyers kick over detention of ‘Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos’ by DSS

Some legal practitioners, under the aegis of the Arewa Human Rights Lawyers and Justice Centre, have condemned the arrest and detention of Aminu Yaro Dogara, the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos, by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The lawyers claimed that the traditional title holder was arrested and being detained by the secret police in order to allegedly implicate Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Lawyers, therefore, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Magaji  Bichi, to immediately release Dogara, who, it said, is being detained in violation of a court order.

The lawyers alleged that the detained Dogara was being compelled by the DSS to indict Emefiele for offences the suspended CBN boss did not commit.

TheGuardian reached out to the DSS but the agency was yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.

Speaking on the position of the group, Tijani Ahmed, a lawyer, said: “Sarkin Hausawa is a highly respected businessman. We call for his immediate release because they are only holding him to force him to indict Mr. Emefiele.”

Mr. Ahmed, however, stated that the Service may have underestimated Dogara, noting that the DSS cannot compel him to bear false witness against an innocent man.

“To be holding him and his wife is crossing the line. He has a daughter. Who do they want to be taking care of the daughter?  Clearly Mr. Bichi must be called to order before he destroys an innocent man’s family who is an ardent supporter of the president,” continued Ahmed.

“The President should not forget what Aminu Yaro’s father did for him and what Aminu Yaro himself did for him. How Aminu Yaro funded the biggest Arewa rallies in the South West aimed at mobilizing Northerners for the President during the campaign.

“This is very important for the President to remember,” Mr.  Ahmed concluded.

The group also reminded the President that Dogara has an order of the court barring security agencies from arresting him over baseless allegations and wondered why he should be in detention despite the court order.

They called on the head of the DSS to free Dogara or face legal action within the next 48 hours.