Nyanya bombing: Court asks Adoke to defend Terrorism Act

A Federal High Court in Abuja has asked the Attorney-
General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, to
appear in court to defend the constitutionality of Section
27 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013 by which a
suspect can be kept in custody for more than 90 days.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola gave the directive on Friday
following a prayer by Aminu Ogwuche, the alleged
mastermind of the bomb blast in Nyanya, a suburb of
Abuja, on April 14, 2014.
Ogwuche is, through his fundamental rights suit, asking the
court to declare that his continued detention by the
Department of State Services without trial constitutes a
violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Through his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), the applicant
asked the court to quash the provision of Section 27 of the
Terrorism Prevention Act 2013 as it infringed on section
35 (4) and (7) of the 1999 Constitution.
Section 27(1) of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013 reads
in part, “The court may, pursuant to an ex-parte
application, grant an order for the detention of a suspect
under this Act for a period not exceeding 90 days subject
to renewal for a similar period until the conclusion of the
investigation and prosecution of the matter that led to the
arrest and detention is dispensed with.”
Justice Ademola on Friday said the prayer being a
constitutional matter, there was the need to invite AGF
as the chief law office of the nation or any of his officers
to offer his opinion on the issue.
The DSS counsel, Clifford Osaghie, had opposed
Ogwuche’s suit as he maintained that the agency had never
breached any law with respect to the applicant’s case.
He maintained that the continued detention of Ogwuche
was in compliance with section 27 of the Terrorism
Prevention Act.
He added that the SSS had earlier obtained remand
order from a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Kaduna and the
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The court consequently fixed December 17 for continuation
of hearing.