Release him and pay him 1.5 million- Court to SS

A Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara
State, on Friday ordered the State
Security Services to release a terror
suspect, Alhaji Abdullahi Berende, on
bail, pending an arraignment before a
court of competent jurisdiction.
The court, presided over by Justice
Olayinka Faji, also said the arrest and
detention of Berende without trial since
December 17, 2012, under unwholesome
condition, control and power of the SSS
was illegal, baseless and
unconstitutional.

According to a copy of the judgment made
available to journalists in Ilorin on
Sunday, the court also held that the
continuous detention of Berende in the SSS
custody is a gross and flagrant violation
of the applicant's fundamental human
rights to freedom of movement.
The judge also awarded damages of N1.5m in
favour of Berende against the SSS.
Faji said, "The respondents (SSS) are also
ordered to release the applicant on bail
pending his arraignment before a Court of
competent jurisdiction.
"It may be that the respondents (SSS) are
fighting scourge of terrorism, which
affects national security. There is
however a need to maintain the clear
balance between law enforcement and
protection of human rights.
"In the circumstances, therefore, I award
a sum of N1.5m in favour of the applicant
and against the respondents as damages."
Berende had on January 13, 2013, sued the
Director-General, SSS and Director, SSS,
Ilorin and applied before the High Court
for the enforcement of his fundamental
human rights.
The Deputy Director Public Relations, SSS,
Marilyn Ogar, had on Wednesday February
20, 2013 said Berende, who is an Islamic
teacher and a local leader of the Shiite
sect in Ilorin, was observed to have made
several suspicious trips to Iran where he
allegedly interacted with some Iranians
known to operate a high profile
international terrorist network.
According to Ogar, the suspect confessed
that in 2006, he gained admission to study
a six-month course in modern Shi'a Islamic
Teaching (Da'awa) at Imam Khomeini
University, Iran but was recruited and
trained in terror acts.
She stated that the Iranian sponsors
requested Berende to identify and gather
intelligence on public places and
prominent hotels attended frequently by
Americans and Israelis