Court orders remand of three Lagos Assembly staff for assaulting DSS operatives
A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the detention of three Lagos State House of Assembly employees in the custody of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) over allegations of assaulting its officers.
According to reports, Justice Daniel Osiagor issued the remand order for Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola following a request by DSS counsel Michael Bajela for their arraignment. However, the judge opted to review the case file before proceeding. The court ruled that the defendants would remain in DSS custody until their arraignment, scheduled for tomorrow.
As detailed in the charge sheet (FHC/L/273C/2025), dated February 24, 2025, and filed on Tuesday, the DSS accused the three individuals, along with others still at large, of conspiring to assault security officers while they were performing their official duties.
The agency alleged that on February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, the defendants obstructed DSS officers without lawful justification.
Additionally, they face cyberstalking charges, with prosecutors claiming they recorded and shared misleading information on social media, allegedly aiming to incite public unrest.
The DSS further alleged that Olanrewaju, Adekunle, and Adetola conspired to commit a felony by deliberately misdirecting electronic messages to discredit the agency and its officials.
The prosecution also claimed that Olanrewaju and Adekunle used an iPhone 12 Pro Max to record and share misleading content, intending to damage the DSS’s reputation and provoke unrest. Similarly, Adekunle was accused of using a Techno POP 8 device on February 17, 2025, at the Lagos State House of Assembly to circulate false information on social media, allegedly to disrupt public order.
The charges, according to the DSS, violate Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as well as Sections 27(1)(b), 24(1)(b), 24(c)(i), and 11 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended), 2024.
