LAWYERS PROTEST SEIZURE OF PHONES AT OMBATSE PANEL Category: News Published on Wednesday, 11 September 2013 05:00 Written by Hir Joseph, Lafia Hits: 138 . ’Only 2 of 10 bodies of SSS recovered’ A mild drama played out yesterday as counsel appearing for various groups and individuals at the ongoing public hearing of the panel investigating the May 7 murder of scores of security operatives in Alakyo, protested a decision of the commission to seize their phones and other gadgets during the proceedings. Chairman of the commission, Retired Justice Joseph Fola Gbadeyan, ordered all counsel representing various communities and groups to switch off their phones, and to hand them over to the commission’s secretary, Abubakar Sadiq Ishaq. Daily Trust gathered that the counsel representing the police, SP Maidawa Saleh Adam had complained that the proceedings of Monday, which were also conducted in secret, “were leaked to the media,” saying he read detailed reports of the content of the police memo in the newspapers of yesterday. Also, a cell phone in the pocket of Barrister Ezekiel Ovye Yakubu, counsel representing a lawmaker, Danjuma Jatau (PDP, Kokona-West), rang during proceeding prompting the commission’s chairman to order him to surrender it to the commission. At this point, the lawyers rose in protest, insisting their fundamental human rights were being infringed upon. But after a heated argument between them and the commission, the lawyers agreed to submit their phones, sources said. Meanwhile, the commission yesterday heard the memo by the State Security Service (SSS), which was presented on behalf of the state director of the organization, Ibrahim Ismaila by an assistant director, Daily Trust learnt from sources. The 34-page SSS memo gave details that centred on the activities of the Eggon group called Ombatse, alleging that the group is a cult. The memo, sources said, gave details of three operations; one in Alakyo in Lafia, and two in Alogani village in Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area. The memo said members of the service went on a combined operation with the police to Alakyo, to invite Baba Alakyo for questioning after the State Security Council (SCC) approved of the operation because of reports that members of the group were allegedly involved in acts of criminality and cultism. The memo also said the operation was to lead to the sealing up of the shrine at Alakyo. The memo, Daily Trust learnt further, said the team of security operatives was ambushed by armed Ombatse members, who opened fire at them, from all angles, killing 64 policemen and 10 members of the SSS, leaving a total of 74 security operatives dead. The memo said only two bodiers of the 10 SSS operatives killed were recovered. The memo said: “All Ombatse are Eggon, but not all Eggon are Ombatse.” The memo also mentioned an incident on November 17, 2012 in Alogani, alleging that two operations they led to the village to invite Baba Alakyo for questioning were violently thwarted by the group. The SSS also produced two witnesses, Joseph Idachaba, and Amos Nyanjo, said to have gone on the two separate operations. The two witnesses recounted their encounter with the suspected Ombatse members at the Alogani shrine, saying the suspected cultists fired at the team of soldiers and SSS. The two witnesses testified that they were shot on their legs,and that the suspected cult members rendered one of the three operational vehicles immobile which is still in the bush. Counsel representing the state government, Barrister Sambo Vongjen applied for a one-day adjournment on grounds that the government will not be ready to make its presentation today as earlier scheduled.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 08:23:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015