Court gives DSS go-ahead to detain Nigerian link to ISIS for 60 days

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, granted an interim order sought by the Department of State Service (DSS) to detain Emmanuel Osase, a Nigerian suspected to be a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for 60 days.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order after counsel for the DSS, A.A. Ugee, moved the ex-parte motion to the effect.

When the matter was called, Ugee informed the court of the application.

He said the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/409/2024 was brought pursuant to Section 66(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

He prayed the court for an order enabling the security outfit to detain Osase for 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Justice Ekwo, who granted the application, adjourned until June 3 for report

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Osase, who was arrested on March 11, was accused of propagating the messages of the terrorist group, opposing the democratic system of government in Nigeria and calling for terrorist attacks on Nigeria and its symbols of sovereignty.

In an affidavit dated March 27 and deposed to by Ahmad Abubakar, a DSS operative, attached to the Legal Service Department, National Headquarters, Abuja, he averred that the release of the suspect could jeopardise the investigation.

He said that Osase was arrested by a team of DSS “for alleged membership and propagation of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist messages, including opposition to Democratic System of Government and the call for staging terrorist attacks against Nigeria and its symbols of sovereignty;”

Abubakar stated that Osase was jailed five years for terrorism-related offences in France and was deported after the completion of his sentence.

He said that from the service’s preliminary investigation, Osase, who is an ex-convict, still engaged in terrorist activities that previously led to his conviction in France.

He said Osase appeared not to have renounced his terrorist ideologies, “as he continues to engage with the proscribed pro-ISIS online media group known as al-Alawn Media Foundation, whose main objectives is the creation and dissemination of terrorist content and the promotion of terrorist attacks against democratic systems of government such as Nigeria and western governments, including their interests across the globe.”

He said the suspect, who was born in the Federal Capital Territory, “left Nigeria for France and never returned to Nigeria until his deportation after completion of a five-year jail term for acts of terrorism and an attempt to join the Islamic State (IS)-linked terrorist group, Friqat Al-Ghuraba (Group of Foreigners), in Syria.”

Abubakar said his activities constituted a potent threat to the national security and corporate existence of Nigeria.

He said there was a need for a thorough investigation of the suspect to ensure that he did not pose any security threat to Nigeria or the world at large.

According to him, the respondent is helping with vital information that will lead to the arrest of other members who are still at large.

He said it would be in the interest of justice and national security to grant the application.