FOLLOWING a June 11 court order that the Lebanese who are alleged to have imported military-grade arms into the
country be produced in court, Nigeria’s Directorate of State Security complied, producing the suspects in court on Thursday.
The accused suspects include Mr. Mustapha Fawaz, the owner of Amigo Supermarket, alongside Abdallah Tahini and Tala Roda.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that the men be produced in court after the suspects sued the Directorate of State Security alongside the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation, challenging their arrest and continued detention by law enforcement agencies.
The suspects are also demanding 50 billion naira in compensation for their losses, challenging the closure of their business ventures by the authorities.
“We have complied with the court order,” said Cliff Osagie, counsel to the Directorate of State Security on Thursday, revealing that he has filed a counter-affidavit in the matter.
He, however, told the court that he filed the counter affidavit and served the papers on the defendant’s Counsel, Mr. Robert Clarke (SAN), in the court in the morning.
Mr. Cliff apologized to the court for the late filing of court processes on the defendant’s counsel.
Mr. Clarke confirmed to the court that the SSS had complied with the court order of June 11 and produced the suspects in court.
He told the court that the counsel to the Directorate served him with a copy of the counter affidavit to their motion in court, saying it was inappropriate.
“My Lord in all my years of practice, I have never seen where counsel will serve court papers in court on the day that the court has fixed a case for hearing.
“It is not a tidy way of practise. We would have agreed to go and overlook this, but the counsel on the other side, in his counter affidavit, mentioned some serious depositions.
“We will, therefore, need time within which to look at it and talk with our clients, ” he said.
Clarke told the court that he would need a reasonable time to go though the papers served on him and to prepare his reply.
The defense counsel asked the court to give an order to requiring the Directorate to allow the suspects access to their lawyers at all times.
He also for an accelerated hearing in the suit.
Justice Adeniyi ordered that they serve and exchange all court processes before Monday,
June 17.
Adeniyi also ordered the Directorate, in whose custody the suspects have been, to allow them have access to their lawyers at all times. He then adjourned hearing to June 21, in the suspects’ Motion on Notice which was dated June 3.
The suspects are praying for an interim order granting them bail forthwith conditionally or unconditionally, pending the determination of the substantive Motion on Notice in the matter.