Armed officers of Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS), better known as DSS, on Thursday besieged the Abuja residence of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Leader, Austin Usman Okai.
“DSS came to my house earlier today at Abacha Road, they have surrounded everywhere.
“My brother Aminu was forcefully taken along with them, one of the DSS operatives told one of my friends who just came in that they were from Asokoro.
“My life is in danger. They want me out of circulation based on my press releases and the information at my disposal about the Supreme Court judgment,” he told SIGNAL.
Of the DSS operatives walking out with my brother Aminu Ademu, they arrested him thinking that he knows my whereabouts.
As you are aware early this morning men of DSS from FCT, Asokoro specially stormed my house in Abacha Road. pic.twitter.com/dbdBvePfjQ— Usman Okai Austin (@Oma_igala1) August 27, 2020
Okai, a member of the opposition party’s Governorship Campaign Council in Kogi State, had on Wednesday raised the alarm ahead of the Supreme Court ruling on the 2019 governorship poll.
He alleged that judges were under pressure to play along with the state governor, Yahaya Bello.
Okai urged the apex court to stand firm against the alleged manipulations of the judiciary by the Kogi governor.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday fixed August 31 to give judgment in the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the PDP, Musa Wada.
In a split judgment of two-to-one delivered on May 23, 2020, the Election Petition Tribunal affirmed Bello’s election.
But on July 4, the Court of Appeal dismissed Wada’s appeal and affirmed Bello as governor of the state.
The appellate court also dismissed the appeals filed by the Social Democratic Party, the Action Peoples Party, and Democratic Peoples Party.
Dissatisfied, the PDP approached the Supreme Court, seeking to upturn the judgment of the two lower courts.
This is a developing story.
____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2020 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
