A rogue senior operative of the Department of State Service (DSS), in Edo State, on Tuesday, allegedly made boast of his close ties with President Bola Tinubu, as he brutally attacked a civilian lawyer, Douglas Ogbankwa.
According to reports, the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the DSS Edo State Command, together with at least seven additional rogue operatives, bragged they were at liberty to do as they pleased because they had the president’s support, even if it meant violating citizens’ human rights, according to Ogbankwa’s account of his brutal ordeal with the SSS agents on Tuesday.
Ogbankwa alleged the PSO of the DSS Edo State Command brutalized and later placed him under arrest for staunchly refusing to allow operatives of the agency whisk his client, Eromosele, to a secluded place to give a statement without the presence of a lawyer.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the lawyer wrote: “I protested that I need to be present by the Provisions of the ACJA. It was at that moment that one man wearing blue native attire that I know is the PSO, Operations and Intelligence, came out asked my client to come out and shouted at me to go back to the reception”.
However, the lawyer insisted on being in the same room as his client, a move that riled the PSO and prompted him to order the civilian out of the agency. However, Ogbankwa boldly disobeyed the order, asserting the “DSS office is an agency of the Federal Government; and I am a freeborn, who should be able to access same at reasonable hours of the day”.
The lawyer said he later made up his mind to leave the agency with his client but the PSO, who was at that point infuriated by his previous statements, slapped him. The attorney claimed that when he threatened to report the rogue agents to President Tinubu, his threat was flippantly dismissed as they bragged about being untouchable, asserting that they already had the president’s backing to carry out their illegal operations, which included harassment and extrajudicial killings.
