SSS finally secures warrant ofarrest for Nasir El-Rufai

 

The State Security Service, SSS, has finally secured a warrant of arrest for the Deputy
National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nasir El-Rufai, and has now aunched a manhunt for him, the spokesperson for the agency has said. This is even as armed operatives of the
Service again stormed a second house inAbuja believed to belong to the former
minister in their desperate bid to arrest him. They had earlier in the afternoon invaded his
first house in the Maitama District of the nation’s capital, but could not find him as he
had reportedly gone to pick his children from school. They were said to have tried to force
their way in to arrest the former minister. Continue...

In the latest siege on another property, also
in the Maitama District, the operatives were
said to have beaten up some private guards
for refusing them entry.
The spokesperson of the SSS, Marylyn Ogar,
confirmed that the operatives visited Mr. El-
Rufai’s second house to arrest him, but
denied that anyone was beaten.
“I hate cheap blackmail,” Ms. Ogar told
Premium Times on telephone. “We went to
the first place, nobody was beaten up. How
will we go to the second place and beat
people up?”
She explained that the SSS got an arrest
warrant demanded by Mr. El-Rufai, but could
not find him to personally serve him the
document.
“We extended a friendly invitation to him,”
the SSS spokesperson said. “He was invited
honourably to come and make some
explanations about the comments attributed
to him.
“He said he wanted an arrest warrant. We
have now obtained that from a competent
court and we are wondering why he is
running.
“We want to serve it on him. Or is there any
Nigerian that is above the law?
“The president has said his ambition is not
worth any Nigerian’s blood. So why will
anyone else be making provocative
statements?”
The manhunt for the former minister
followed his refusal to honour an invitation
from the SSS on Thursday.
He cited his pending suit against the Service
over his detention in a hotel in Awka during
the Anambra State Governorship last
November 16 as the reason for refusing to
honour the invitation.
Mr. El-Rufai also insisted on seeing a warrant
of arrest before he could go to the SSS office.
The invitation of the APC chief was in
connection with his remarks at a conference
in Abuja on Wednesday that there might be
violence if the 2015 general elections were
not credible.
Meanwhile, Mr. El-Rufai, in statement by his
media advisor, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Friday,
confirmed that armed SSS officials stormed
his home in Abuja following his rejection of
the attempt by the organization to compel
him to report at their office without a valid
warrant.
The statement said the former minister had
on Thursday firmly told the Director General
of SSS that he would be exercising his right
not to go to the SSS offices except a warrant
mandates him and offered to meet the SSS
officials in his home or office.
“The armed invasion of his house is a clear
indication that the SSS imagines itself as an
agency immune from respecting fundamental
rights, behaviour akin to a gathering of
toughs before whom every citizen must
quake,” the statement said.
“The SSS agents did not produce any warrant
to back their invasion of his premises.
“The assault on El-Rufai’s house continues a
sorry tradition of serial violation of his rights
by the SSS which has arrested him at airports
and hotels.
“The most recent was the action of the SSS in
violating his right to freedom of movement in
Awka during the Anambra elections. Without
any just cause or formal charge, the
Directorate of State Security Services (SSS)
had unlawfully detained El Rufai, the Deputy
National Secretary of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) at the premises of Finotel
Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, from the 15th
day of November, 2013 to the 16th day of
November, 2013.”
The statement said during the period, Mr. El-
Rufai was not only restricted to the hotel, he
was denied access to his congregational
prayer as a devout Muslim, and kept
incommunicado without access to anyone and
or the press.
It stated that in order to remedy the flagrant
violation of his fundamental rights as
enshrined in sections 35, 39, 40 and 41 of
the Constitution, the former minister sued
the SSS, seeking eight reliefs, including an
injunction to restrain the SSS from further
infringing on his fundamental rights.