The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the commando-style invasion of the Ekiti State House of Assembly by armed operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS.
The NBA, which decried the arbitrary arrest of members of the Assembly, also asked the DSS to make public the whereabouts of the lawmakers and the offences they committed that warranted their arrest.
It would be recalled that the DSS last week stormed the Ekiti Assembly and whisked away four lawmakers and appointees of Governor Ayodele Fayose.
Reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti NBA Chairman, Dr Foluke Dada, said the body views the arrest and detention of the lawmakers by the DSS as a sharp departure from the tenets of democracy and a clear contravention of the law setting up the institution.
“Above all, the arrest is a clear contravention of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the DSS is established to uphold at all times when discharging their duties.
“The NBA, mindful of the current fight against corruption, calls on the authorities involved to uphold the Rule of Law. Hence, the Bar unequivocally condemns the forced entry into the hallowed chambers of the House and the arbitrary arrest of the lawmakers.
“The branch, while condemning the commando style of the DSS, asks for the immediate disclosure of the where-about of the lawmakers and wants to know the offences upon which they were arrested to be made public”.
