A Federal High Court has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay the sum of N10.5 million as compensation to journalist, Jones Abiri, over his illegal detention for two years by the DSS.
This order was given at the resumed hearing Abiri’s case brought before it by the DSS during which the journalist was granted bail.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday however, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba stated that the Department of State Security did not deny arresting and detaining the Journalist since July 2016, denying him access to his doctors, family and friends during his time of incarceration.
The Trial judge also noted further that when Abiri was eventually charged to court earlier this year, he was not charged with the crimes for which he was arrested and detained illegally for in the first place.
The judge then ruled that the Department of State Security acted outside the provisions of the law regarding the Terrorism Prevention Act, and therefore, ordered the agency to pay the sum of N10.5 million only as damages to the journalist.
The court said it had the discretion of awarding penalties and felt N10.5 million Naira was an adequate compensation to the person of Jones Abiri who has unlawfully and unjustly detained for two years.
Mr. Abiri, a Bayelsa-based journalist and publisher of the Weekly Source Magazine, was arrested at his office in Yenagoa, the state capital, for his alleged link to armed militancy in the Niger Delta region, an allegation he denied vehemently.
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Despite his denial of the accusations, the DSS refused to let him go citing that he was being held on terrorism related charges and they were carrying out further investigation. It however took the continued efforts of human rights groups both local and international to secure Mr. Abiri’s release from the clutches of the DSS.
Although the defendants counsel was visibly happy that Jutice had been served to his client, the DSS is expected to appeal the case.
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