The detained Chief Security officer, CSO, of former President Goodluck
Jonathan, Mr.Gordon Obua, is sick with diabetes and hypertension and has
been denied access to his medicines, Onochie Onwuegbuna, the lead partner
at Zeran Legal, said in a statement.
Onwuegbuna, said the former CSO is being witch-hunted as part of a plan
against “marked” individuals who served and held offices in the Jonathan
administration of “in other to implicate them by all means for phantom
crimes or offences”.
The Lawyer who claim to be representing Obua who is currently on hunger
strike said the former CSO is “languishing in detention.”
THE FULL TEXT OF THE STATEMENT READS:
We have been briefed and our services retained by the family of Mr. Gordon
Obua, the Chief Security Officer to former President Goodluck Jonathan
(Our Client) in respect of his present harassment and detention by the
State Security Services (SSS).
The facts as narrated to us by our Client’s family are as follows:
Our Client, a serving officer of the State Security Services was ordered
to report to the Headquarters to meet with the Acting Director General
(A.D.G). He consequently reported at the Headquarters at about 9am on the
8th of July 20 15 and he was kept waiting till late in the night by the
Acting D.G who finally asked him to report again the next day. The exact
situation played out the next day and the day after resulting on our
Client reporting to the office of the A.D.G everyday from the 8th of July
2015 till the 16th of July 2015.
On the 3rd day of reporting, our Client was orally informed by the A.D.G
that there was a petition against him without telling him the contents of
the alleged Petition or the identity or the Petitioner (s).
Our Client requested to be availed a copy of the Petition or its contents
to enable him respond accordingly however, his request was not granted,
and he was rather told not to worry that such petitions are normal
considering the office he previously occupied.
On the 16th of July 2015, he reported at the office of the A.D.G by 5pm as
directed, and as usual he was kept waiting till about 1am on Friday 17th
July 2015 when the A.D.G informed him that he will be detained and he has
been in detention since then without being informed what offence (if any)
he is alleged to have committed or the reason for his detention.
Our Client is hypertensive and diabetic to the knowledge of his employers
the SSS. and as a result he has been on daily medications to manage these
very severe ailments and since his detention, he has completely been
denied access to these medications. Our Client has also been denied access
to members of his family, his doctor and his lawyers and even more
worrisome is the information obtained by his family that he has not eaten
or drank water ever since he was detained.
The actions of the SSS and our Client’s subsequent detention constitute
undue harassment and gross violation of his fundamental rights to respect
for the dignity of his person and personal liberty as guaranteed by
Sections 31 and 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In view of the much publicised siege by the SSS on the residences of the
Former National Security Adviser coincidentally in the evening of the 16th
of July 2015, our Client’s family believe and are justifiably apprehensive
that he is being harassed and detained in furtherance of what seems to be
a well calculated witch hunt, unlawful harassment gross violation of his
fundamental human rights of certain “marked” individuals who served and
held offices in the administration of Former President Goodluck Jonathan
in other to implicate them by all means for phantom crimes or offences.
This view is further strengthened by the fact that our Client was made to
report everyday since the 6th of July 2015, only to be detained in the
early hours of Friday 17th of July 2015 which was public holiday with the
knowledge that Monday the 20th of July 2015 is also a public holiday. The
aim was clearly to ensure he is kept in detention for the period and to
ensure that the earliest date available to his lawyers to approach the
Courts to enforce his fundamental right is Tuesday the 21st of July 2015.
Our Client is presently languishing in the custody of the SSS without
access to his medication, food, water and drugs or to any member of his
family, doctors or his lawyers and in the circumstance, we hereby call on
the SSS to immediately release him as he has not been informed the facts
and grounds of his detention in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution.
The general public is also invited to note that the SSS should be held
responsible if anything untoward happens to our Client in their custody or
subsequently as a consequence of his unlawful detention.