Queen’s Speech: Johnson puts law and order issues at forefront

Crime and justice policies were placed at the centre of the
government’s agenda today as the Queen’s Speech set out its
legislative priorities.

While around one-third of measures announced were
Brexit-related, several other elements of the speech touched on
issues affecting the legal sector.

The speech pledged to ‘transform’ the approach of the justice
system and other agencies to victims of domestic abuse through the
new Domestic Abuse Bill, having previously failed to push ahead
with this legislation due to prorogation of parliament. The
Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill will also be back on the
agenda, promising to ‘minimise the impact of divorce, particularly
on children’, but making no specific pledges on introducing
no-fault divorce.

As was previewed at the Conservative party conference, the
government will introduce new sentencing laws that will result in
the most serious offenders spending longer in custody. The
government says its reforms show commitment to strengthening public
confidence in the criminal justice system, but critics have
suggested such promises will make little practical change.

Measures will be introduced to improve the justice system’s
response to foreign national offenders, and proposals will be
brought forward to ensure victims receive greater support.

The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) will be
introduced ‘to ensure that the parole system recognises the pain to
victims and their families caused by offenders refusing to disclose
information relating to their crimes’.

The government has also pledged to provide greater powers to
tackle irresponsible management of private pension schemes.

On Brexit-related legislation, the speech set out that steps
will be taken to provide ‘certainty, stability and new
opportunities’ for the financial services and legal sectors,
through the Financial Services Bill and Private International Law
(Implementation of Agreements) Bill.

Critics have suggested the government may not be able to
implement any of the measures included in the Queen’s Speech, with
a government minority in the House of Commons, the opposition
contemplating a vote of no confidence in the prime minister and a
general election likely before the end of this year.

Culled from lawgazette.co.uk

Exposed: How DSS Detained Citizen Ahmadu since 2013
without Trial
•Suspect allegedly tortured without trial
•Not allowed Communication, access to family
•Court case scheduled for tomorrow

The horrifying story how a Nigerian citizen, Mr. Abdullahi
Ahmadu, has been in the custody of the Department of State Services
(DSS) since 2013 without access to the court or family members has
been exposed.

PRNigeria^[1] was informed by sources
that citizen Ahmadu has been in the detention of the State Secret
Service for all these years without trial, access to family and
friends as well as adequate medical attention.

This was further confirmed in suit filed on behalf of the Ahmadu
by his Counsel to enforce his fundamental human rights with
accompanying affidavit in support of the application by two
witnesses alleging torture, inhuman and degrading treatment.

In the suit No: FHC/ABI/CS/645/2019 dated June 10, 2019 and
obtained on Monday by PRNigeria^[2], the applicant was said
to have been arrested in Lafia, Nasarawa State and had been
detained at the DSS Headquarters, Abuja since August 20, 2013.

The case is to come up on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 before the
Federal High Court, Abuja with the notice of application for order
enforcing a fundamental human rights of the plaintiff in pursuant
of the relevant sections of the Nigerian constitution and of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

Already, the Court has entertained an order brought by Ibrahim
Hassan and Afolabi Omotoso, the Counsel to the applicant, to compel
the DSS that “his Counsel and relatives be allowed access to
him”.

But following the absence of the DSS as well as its Counsel, the
Court ordered the Service to allow Ahmadu access to his Counsel and
his relatives.

In the substantive suit, the Counsel to the Applicant sought
about six reliefs including a declaration that the arrest and
continuing detention of citizen Ahmadu since 2013 for “any reason
or order of Court whatsoever, or for any offence whatsoever without
trial is unlawful, inhuman, unconstitutional and an unjustifiable
infraction of the Fundamental Human Rights of the Applicant as
enshrined and guaranteed under Section 34 (1)(a) and 35(1) of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)
and Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the African Charter on Human
and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act CAP LFN 2004
respectively”.

The Counsel also sought the Court to declare that the alleged
“torture, cruelty, inhuman and degrading treatment being” meted
continuously on citizen Ahmadu by the DSS has resulted in extensive
damage to his psychology, social and emotional being, and
therefore, unconstitutional and violation of his right to dignity
of human person.

To this end, the Court was prayed to order DSS to not only
release citizen Ahmadu from detention but to pay the sum of N60
million compensation in addition to a public apology for the
“unjustifiable, unlawful and continuous detention of the Applicant
for about six years now and still counting”.

In the same vein, the Respondent (DSS) must be compelled to pay
another sum of N50 million to citizen Ahmadu for the “torture,
inhuman and degrading treatment being meted” out to him while in
detention as well as an order restraining the Secret Police, their
agents privies, servants, however described from further arresting
and detaining the Applicant.

PRNigeria^[3] gathered that the
reliefs were sought on the ground that apart from the fact that the
Applicant is a Nigerian citizen with fundamental human rights, he
is in DSS without any justification, as no charge was preferred
against him in any court of law in respect of any crime or offence,
and no order was obtained from any court of law to justify his
continuous detention.

The lawyers also argued in the suit that the DSS and their
agents have no power or right to use their positions to arrest/or
detain the Applicant without any just cause/order to court and
beyond 48 hours period, and that the arrest and detention of Ahmadu
constitutes a breach of his fundamental right to freedom of
movement, liberty, dignity and right to cair hearing as enshrined
in sections of the constitution and African Charter.

For citizen Ahmadu, life was so dark and hopeless until he met
one of the witness, Mr. Afiz Jamiu, in the DSS custody between
April 16 to May 10, 2019.

Jamiu who deposed an affidavit obtained by PRNigeria^[4], disclosed that his
detention and subsequent freedom from the DSS facility offered ray
of hope to Ahmadu who narrated his ordeal and asked that he help
reach out to his family.

Prior to Afiz’s intervention, Ahmadu’s family was unaware of his
fate or whereabouts as whether he was missing or dead.

Afiz claimed that Ahmadu who is also acknowledged and known as
Kudi Banza Banza had in the DSS Cell in Abuja at about 3pm on April
16, 2019 told all the harrowing experience in the last six
years.

According to him, Ahmadu is plumber, borehole driller, vendor
and a contractor behind Lafia East Primary School, Nasarawa State
who also buys and sells land and household property.

He said that Ahmadu’s trouble started on August 20, 2013 when he
was called on phone for a borehole job at a location in Lafia and
on getting to the meeting point, he met about four people who
grabbed, blindfolded and bundled to a place he later found out was
the DSS Headquarters, Abuja.

“Upon his arrival at the DSS Headquarters, he was asked to write
down his name and subsequently, whether he knew of an old man, a
herbalist in a particular town outside Lafia town of which he
answered in the negative, saying he neither knew the herbalist nor
the town. It was at this point the DSS operatives told Ahmadu that
the said herbalist used native medicine to kill one Police
officer,” Afiz testified.

Speaking further, the depodent said that upon his narration, he
asked Ahmadu if he does a business of which he might have been set
up by his business partner.

It was after this prodding that he disclosed that he does
business with just one friend whom he gave land document few days
before his arrest and detention, “to deliver same to a buyer and
collect in return a sum of N5 million” but have neither seen nor
heard from the said friend or any one at all since his
detention.

“…after staying in the cell with him (Abdullahi Ahmadu) for one
week and upon noticing that I was being frequently called out to
receive visitors, he told me that he suspected I could be released
soon. Therefore, he gave me three mobile numbers with which to
contact his family upon my release. That three numbers belong to
one of his wives, one of his son and another person staying in
Masaka”, he deposed.

Afiz further revealed that upon his release, he narrated the
story to one of his brother who helped to call the contacts and
explained Ahmadu’s ordeal to them.

To this end, the younger brother to the Applicant, Mr. Adamu
Adamu, who was contacted also deposed to an affidavit in support of
the Court application.

By PRNigeria^[5]