The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), on Monday, called on human right organisations within and outside the country to assist in seeking for justice for its members in detention of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Abdullahi Muhammad Musa, Secretary of the Academic Forum of the Islamic Movement, made the call in a statement released in Abuja.
According to him, it is now nine years since the illegal and successive arrest of the trio of Malam Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussain Musa and Adamu Suleiman by the State Security Services (SSS).
“From his residence in Kaduna, and right before his family, Ibrahim was apprehended and carted off on the 28th of February, 2013.
“Then, upon his arrival from a foreign trip on the 16th of March, 2013, Malam Haruna was taken into custody at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
“The third, Adamu, was arrested a year or so after the unlawful nabbing of the above two.
“Sequel to their arrest, each and every one of them was first of all taken to the SSS National Headquarters in Abuja and kept in isolation, while a handful of dubious security agents interrogated them at different instant, separately, and testified that they are not in anyway associated to the so called terrorism.
“Ever since then, they have been framed for terrorism,” he alleged.
He said for Haruna, he was accused of sending Ibrahim and Adamu to be trained overseas, “and there is nothing as far from the truth as such spurious fantasy.”
Musa said: “having expended over two years with DSS, gruesomely suffering through agonising and terrible instruments of torture, the trio of these tormented and ill-treated victims, were transferred to prison having been taken to a court presided by one Justice Ademola, after taking a very long time without achieving anything as a result of delay caused by the prosecutor, the case was later withdrawn, and the trial unjustly shifted to another court to be started afresh by one Justice Chikere, during which the proceeding was deliberately slowed through gratuitous and unnecessary seeking for adjournments from the Court by the Prosecutor.
“The worst is, the case has now been transferred to another court (Court 8 in the Federal High Court Abuja) presided again by a new judge and the matter started afresh on Monday, 28th February, 2022 and adjourned to 5th April, 2022 for hearing.
“What terrible delaying tactics such is!. Isn’t there something fishy going on?.
“The pace with which the case moves is too sluggish coupled with the fact that there is not a shred of evidence to support and prove the guiltiness of the accused thus far,” he said.
According to him, we are afraid nothing positive at the end will be achieved.
“Malam Haruna Abbas has been suffering from hypertension, chronic ulcer, diabetes and many other serious health challenges, however, with no proper medical attention.
“It is such a gross injustice that has been meted against these innocents citizens,” he said.
Musa said it was disheartening that “those employed to enforce laws by a nation turned out to be the ones stretching the laws to a plastic limit.”
He said several attempts to have the detainees released on bail are all to no avail, as the applications were many times turned down.
“We are calling the attention of all human right organisations, human right defendants and all people of concern to please intervene into the issue of these innocent souls that have been brutally tormented by the Nigerian government,” he concluded.
