In this interview with AWAAL GATA, Barrister Leo Ekpeyong, an Abuja-based private legal practitioner and human rights crusader, speaks on the ongoing controversy between the government of Ekiti state and the Department of State Service), following the latter’s arrest of some lawmakers in the state House of Assembly.
What would you say about the ongoing controversy over lawmakers arrest in Ekiti?
First of all, we begin by commending the Lawal Daura leadership of the DSS, basically for his sense of professionalism. We have had square pegs in round holes which, is why we are experiencing challenges in other areas of other sectors of our human endeavours as Nigerians.
But today Mr. President, in his wisdom, brought in a professional security man to man the security outfit, and the reasons for the display of this act of professionalism are not far-fetched; today we can see that the main responsibility of the DSS in maintaining internal security has been realised. Let me give an example of what I meant. Today , you can agree with me that the activities of ethnic militias have been reduced almost to the barest minimum, and it was a recurring decimal in past administrations.
You can see the act of intelligence gathering, which has brought about positive result in the maintenance of internal security. No Nigerian needs to be told today that the activities of the Boko Haramsect have been whittled down; and I must commend the federal government for this step in the right direction. How has this been made possible? Professionalism, proactiveness and seriousness in theactivities of these security agencies, are responsible for the successes being recorded today.
However, it is important to note that just like when success is recorded, there must be some agents of distraction; it is against this background that one condemns in strong terms, the false allegations by the government of Ekiti state against the DSS.
Why is it false allegation?
It is false in the sense that, in legal parlance, it is said, “he who asserts must prove”. If there is an allegation that the presidency tried to use intimidation to compel the legislators in the state House of Assembly to impeach the governor, let somebody come forward with proof. This cannot be raised as an issue that can be swallowed hook, line and sinker. If there was an allegation like that or there was an attempt like that, as subterranean as it were, then we urge the governor to come out with the proof, because this can be said to be an attempt to blackmail the security agencies.
No security agency will just take on House of Assembly members without a cause. It must have been as a result of security information, where the DSS has a role, by virtue of the enabling act, to curtail commission of crimes.
Crime prevention, the world over, is even the main basis of security operations. So, if there is the likelihood of commission of a crime,the security outfit is empowered by the law to ensure its prevention.
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Governor Fayose is the chief security officer of the state, and he has alleged an invasion of the state Assembly. Don’t you think the DSS should have put the governor in the know?
It was not an invasion. It was an arrest based on security reports. The governor as the chief security officer of the state should ensure the security of lives and property, but then, the Nigerian police and the Department of State Service have that onerous duty to ensure even the prevention of the commission of crime. We are not alleging that the governor may have been involved, but we are saying that the security outfit has that onerous task of not only preventing the commission of crime but also to prosecute same when they arise. So it was within the purview of the security outfits to do what they did.
Don’t you think the DSS should tell the world what is going?
Not when the investigation, in my humble view, is concluded.The whole issue is now dicey, because allegations after allegations have been coming up; don’t you think it will now be apt for the air now to be cleared? I am not speaking for them, but I know as a matter of logic, explanation about prevention and commission of crime cannot be made public until investigations are concluded.
What are you expecting from the state government now?
To stop blackmail! Is it possible for the federal government to compel House of Assembly members to impeach a sitting governor? Has the governor offended the Presidency? In my humble opinion, it is baseless…
There could be political back-plays you don’t know…..
I think it is the Ekiti state government that is trying to bring politics into it, because not all the assembly men were arrested, which means that those arrested may have committed crime. And that is why the constitution says when there is likelihood of the commission of crime, the security agencies have a role to curtail its commission.
However, while the DSS is investigating these alleged activities, I think it is only normal for the government of Ekiti state to allow them come out with their findings. And if, in my humble view, you feel the rights of those assembly men as Nigerians are violated, they have recourse to go to court.
I remember when the DSS, based on security reports, intercepted the commission of crime in one of the guest houses in Akwa Ibom state; the sitting government went to town and blackmailed the DSS, too, of having been sponsored by the federal government.
Why is it so? I feel that this continuous attempt at blackmailing is a serious concern because if the civil society organizations are not alive to their responsibilities, to take a neutral position and be objective, then some centrifugal forces may succeed in intimidating the law enforcement agencies from carrying out their duties.
Any unprofessional security outfit that does not understand the nature of its workings might be intimidated by public outcry because that public outcry or that weighty allegation, as it were by the governor of Ekiti against the DSS, is capable of raising emotions and instigating the public against the DSS. So it is my view that this incessant blackmail should be discouraged. The government of Ekiti should allow the security agencies do their job. And I urge Malam Daura to concentrate and be focused; he should not allow himself to be distracted by any form of blackmail or intimidation, both by government and the civilsociety.
I urge him to take solace in the illuminating words of Martin Luther King; “the possibility that we shall even fail in this cause shall not deter us from pursuing a cause which we believe to be a just cause.”
I also urge him to take solace in the illuminating words of an American congress man, Barry Goodwater: “extremism in defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
