Whereabouts Of NAPO President General, Two Others Unknown, Says Lawyer

More than 24 hours after operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested the President General of the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO), Mr Harold Benstowe, alongside two members of the association, Mr Tuwonimi Benstowe and Mr Michael Mbata, their whereabouts remain unknown, raising concerns among family members, lawyers and labour rights advocates.

Counsel to NAPO, Mr Marx Ikongbeh, disclosed this on Saturday, January 24, 2026, in a statement to Kristina Reports, describing the arrest and continued detention of the labour union leaders as unlawful and amounting to contempt of court.

According to Ikongbeh, the trio were arrested by heavily armed DSS operatives in Finima, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, in what eyewitnesses described as a Gestapo-style operation, but have since been held incommunicado.

In a formal letter addressed to the Director-General of the DSS, Mr Tosin Ajayi, the NAPO lawyer demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Benstowe and the two other members, urging the DSS leadership to rein in its Rivers State Command.

“The action of your officers, in light of a pending court case, is contemptuous of the authority of the court,” Ikongbeh stated in the letter.

He added, “In light of the above, we call on you to use your good office to immediately intervene, call the Rivers State Command to order and direct them to immediately release our clients.”

Ikongbeh further drew the attention of the DSS boss to a pending suit before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, Suit No.: NICN/ABJ/165/2024, between NAPO and the Minister of Labour and Employment, in which the DSS is listed as a party sought to be joined.

The suit, titled The Incorporated Trustees of National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO) & 3 Ors v. Hon. Minister of Labour & Employment & 2 Ors, according to the lawyer, already has the DSS as the 11th party sought to be joined, with the agency having filed a counter-affidavit.

“We are solicitors to the National Association of Plant Operators (NAPO), a recognised trade union duly approved for registration by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment,” Ikongbeh said. “You will recollect that our client is currently in court in respect of the above-listed matter where the DSS is listed as a party and has even actively participated by filing a counter-affidavit.”

The lawyer alleged that despite the public nature of the arrest, the Rivers State Command of the DSS has denied having the NAPO President General and his colleagues in custody.

“Lawyers from our chambers went to the Rivers State Command, but they were denied access to our clients,” Ikongbeh said. “As it stands, family members of our clients do not know their whereabouts, if not for the fact that the arrest was covered by members of the press who reported it.”

He further accused the DSS of denying the detained union leaders access to their families, lawyers and medical care, describing such actions as a gross violation of the Constitution.

“Your organisation, as a creature of law, ought to know that under the constitutional protections granted to every citizen, arrest, detention and denial of access to lawyers is unlawful,” he said. “It is even worse when such actions are carried out against workers exercising their labour union rights.”

Ikongbeh warned that the incident could undermine the DSS leadership’s efforts to improve the agency’s public image.

“We know that your administration is working hard to clean up the image of the DSS, and we submit that this incident might become a dent and an irremovable blot on those good efforts,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Kristina Reports team on the ground at the Finima Police Station in Bonny LGA witnessed the arrest of the NAPO officials. According to the report, DSS operatives stormed the area, chained the legs of the three men together, and drove them away in two Hilux vans to an undisclosed location in Port Harcourt.

As of the time of filing this report, the DSS has remained silent on the incident. Efforts by Kristina Reports to obtain an official response from the agency were unsuccessful, as enquiries sent to its headquarters via email and WhatsApp had yet to receive a reply.

The continued silence from the DSS has further heightened anxiety among NAPO members and civil society groups, who are calling for transparency and respect for due process in the handling of the matter.