Detained ex CSO Diabetic, Hypertensive but denied his drugs, Lawyer cries out

Gordon Obua, the detained ex-CSO to former
President Goodluck Jonathan, has been denied
his medications despite being diabetic and
hypertensive, his lawyer has alleged.
Obua was detained by the State Security
Service (SSS) on Thursday in its ongoing
investigation of the spending of security funds
as well as oil theft under Jonathan.

But Onochie Onwuegbuna, the lead partner
at Zeran Legal, has issued a press statement
on behalf of Obua to complain about the
conditions under which he is being detained.
He also asked for Obua’s unconditional release.

Onwuegbuna, who said he was the lawyer to
the former CSO, alleged that his client is being
witch-hunted as part of a plan against “marked”
individuals who served and held offices in the
Jonathan administration of “in other to
implicate them by all means for phantom
crimes or offences”.

Although he said Obua has been denied food
and water by the SSS, TheCable understands
that he is on a hunger strike to protest his being
held in solitary confinement.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE STATEMENT

We have been briefed and our services retained by
the family of Mr. Gordon Obua, the Chief Security
Officer to former President Goodluck Jonathan
(Our Client) in respect of his present harassment
and detention by the State Security Services (SSS).
The facts as narrated to us by our Client’s family
are as follows:

1. Our Client, a serving officer of the State
Security Services was ordered to report to the
Headquarters to meet with the Acting Director
General (A.D.G). He consequently reported at
the Headquarters at about 9am on the 8th of
July 20 15 and he was kept waiting till late in
the night by the Acting D.G who finally asked
him to report again the next day. The exact
situation played out the next day and the day
after resulting on our Client reporting to the
office of the A.D.G everyday from the 8th of
July 2015 till the 16th of July 2015.

2. On the 3rd day of reporting, our Client was
orally informed by the A.D.G that there was a
petition against him without telling him the
contents of the alleged Petition or the identity
or the Petitioner (s). Our Client requested to be
availed a copy of the Petition or its contents to
enable him respond accordingly however, his
request was not granted, and he was rather
told not to worry that such petitions are
normal considering the office he previously
occupied.

3. On the 16th of July 2015, he reported at the
office of the A.D.G by 5pm as directed, and as
usual he was kept waiting till about 1am on
Friday 17th July 2015 when the A.D.G
informed him that he will be detained and he
has been in detention since then without being
informed what offence (if any) he is alleged to
have committed or the reason for his
detention.

4. Our Client is hypertensive and diabetic to the
knowledge of his employers the SSS. and as a
result he has been on daily medications to
manage these very severe ailments and since
his detention, he has completely been denied
access to these medications.

5. Our Client has also been denied access to
members of his family, his doctor and his
lawyers and even more worrisome is the
information obtained by his family that he has
not eaten or drank water ever since he was
detained.

The actions of the SSS and our Client’s subsequent
detention constitute undue harassment and gross
violation of his fundamental rights to respect for
the dignity of his person and personal liberty as
guaranteed by Sections 31 and 35 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In view of the much publicised siege by the SSS on
the residences of the Former National Security
Adviser coincidentally in the evening of the 16th of
July 2015, our Client’s family believe and are
justifiably apprehensive that he is being harassed
and detained in furtherance of what seems to be a
well calculated witch hunt, unlawful harassment
gross violation of his fundamental human rights of
certain “marked” individuals who served and held
offices in the administration of Former President
Goodluck Jonathan in other to implicate them by
all means for phantom crimes or offences.

This view is further strengthened by the fact that
our Client was made to report everyday since the
6th of July 2015, only to be detained in the early
hours of Friday 17th of July 2015 which was public
holiday with the knowledge that Monday the 20th
of July 2015 is also a public holiday. The aim was
clearly to ensure he is kept in detention for the
period and to ensure that the earliest date available
to his lawyers to approach the Courts to enforce
his fundamental right is Tuesday the 21st of July
2015.

Our Client is presently languishing in the custody
of the SSS without access to his medication, food,
water and drugs or to any member of his family,
doctors or his lawyers and in the circumstance, we
hereby call on the SSS to immediately release him
as he has not been informed the facts and grounds
of his detention in accordance with the provisions
of the Constitution.

The general public is also invited to note that the
SSS should be held responsible if anything
untoward happens to our Client in their custody or
subsequently as a consequence of his unlawful
detention.