Reports We Fed Igboho’s Aides ‘Engine Oil’ Soup Embarrassing – DSS Tells Court

The Department of States Services (DSS) wants the Federal High Court, Abuja, to do something about the way some media organizations report its activities particularly with regards to the arrest and detention of 12 aides of Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Igboho.

During the court proceedings on Monday, there was heated exchange between counsel to the DSS , I. Awo and the plaintiffs’ counsel, O. Pelumi, over what the former described as “embarrassing” reports against the DSS.

Recall that Justice Obiora Egwatu of the said court had on July 23 and July 29 ordered the DSS to produce the applicants after its failure to bring them for hearing of the Fundamental Human Rights case filed against the state service.

DSS had told the judge that it had secured an order to detain the plaintiffs arrested during its operatives’ invasion of Sunday Igboho’s home in Ibadan on July 1.

The judge, however, demanded that the security agency must produce the applicants in line with the order of court.

But at the resumed hearing today, DSS counsel, Awo, accused some media houses of peddling fake news about its detention of the Yoruba nation agitators.

“Some sections of the media said that some of those arrested were dead…some said we are feeding them with engine oil.

“If we fed them with engine oil, they won’t be here.

“We find it very embarrassing,” he said while praying the judge to address the situation.

But the applicants lawyer, Pelumi replied that his client told him that they were fed with a kind of soup they described as “engine oil”.

He said, “My lord, I think that the media misinterpreted us…the applicants told us that they are fed with what is called engine oil in quote, ” he said.

Responding, the judge told the lawyers that since the court was a public place, he won’t stop journalists from covering proceedings.

But he advised journalists to report true situation of things and that Pelumi should be clear when talking to reporters.

Earlier, our correspondent observed that 8 of the 12 detained supporters of Igboho were in court.

Pelumi told the judge that he had a motion on notice which sought to correct the misspellings in the names of the applicants.

“We seek an order of court granting leave to the applicants to reflect the proper and correct names of the applicants.

“Since the motion is not contended by the DSS’s counsel…we pray that you deem the names as been amended,” he said.

He also urged the court to compel the DSS to bring the 12 applicants to court, instead of 8 of them.

But Awo said that even though he was not against the motion, Pelumi should be directed by the court to make his prayers formal and not oral.

Subsequently, the judge adjourned the case to August 4, for the plaintiffs’ lawyer to make his prayers formal and for the lawyers to clear all ambiguity around the names.