Adejoke Adebiyi
Abuja-based human rights lawyers have knocked the Department of State Service, for labelling them as counsel to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Eastern Security Network, ESN.
The lawyers, who filed contempt of court charges against the Director General of the SSS on Wednesday, alleged that the agency is planning to frame them up on terrorism charges.
Recall that the lawyers had demanded the release of the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, from DSS detention.
In response to this, the DSS had labelled the lawyers as ‘overzealous and uninformed IPOB/ESN lawyer’ adding that they are just ‘charge and bail lawyers.’
The lawyers therefore, in a press briefing at Abuja, through their spokesperson, Abdulazeez Tijani Ahmed expressed their concerns and highlighted the potential consequences of the tweet.
The controversial tweet, still visible on the DSS’s handle at the time of the briefing, had caused widespread outrage and garnered significant attention on social media.
The tweet read “ a Biafran Republic agitator and outlawed IPOB counsel defending the suspended CBN governor. Is IPOB defending one of theirs???? What a contradiction…..hmmm…what’s the connection? May Maxwell be properly educated on points of law, please.”
The lawyers further argued that the DSS has a history of disregarding court orders, particularly when it involves individuals of Igbo descent, leading them to accuse the DG of suffering from “Igbophobia.”
They claim that Emefiele’s current ordeal is a result of ethnic profiling initiated by the DG, as he perceives all Igbo people as IPOB/ESN terrorists.
“This was about 17 hours after it had been posted and had really gone viral. At that time, it had been seen by about 2 million people globally, generated over 3600 comments, retweeted almost 5000 times and liked more than 2500 times.
“The tweets which have been greeted by national outrage and condemnation is still on the handle of the security agency.
The lawyers made a strong call for the removal of the DG, alleging that he has declared war on Igbo people and exhibited open hatred against the ethnic group.
They fear that, the DG’s actions could tarnish the image of President Bola Tinubu, expressing gratitude for the widespread condemnation the tweet received from the public.
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