DSS Operatives

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday granted an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to shield witnesses that will testify in a case against seven suspected Boko Haram members.

At the resumed trial, the prosecutor, Mr Shuaibu Labaran, prayed the court to allow the identity of the prosecution witnesses to be protected.

Labaran also prayed the court to allow the witnesses to be addressed with pseudo names.

He said the application was supported by a six-paragraph statement, deposed to by an operative of the DSS and a three-paragraph affidavit.

However, counsel to the defendants said part of the grounds on which the prosecution sought the application were offensive to the provisions of the Evidence Act.

Mr Elijah Oloruntoba, counsel to the third defendant, Umar Bello,

argued that some of the paragraphs were incompetent and should be struck out.

According to him, the operative of the DSS who swore to the affidavit said he got information from Labaran, an external factor.

He said this was not acceptable as the person who swore to the affidavit did not carry out the investigation.

“It is our humble submission that some of the grounds of the application are incompetent, especially ground one, which is against the Evidence Act and should be struck out.

On his part, Mr K. Abdulkarim, counsel to the sixth defendant, Usman Abubakar, said that he was not opposed to trying the suspects in secret, but that he was against some of the grounds.

According to him, an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but ground one of the application sworn to by the prosecution assumes the accused to be guilty even before he is tried.

Justice John Tsoho who granted the application, however, adjourned the matter until April 25 to rule on a second application by the prosecution.

In the second application, the prosecution is asking the court to vary its easier order to remand the defendants in Kuje Prison.

The prosecution now wants the court to allow the defendants to remain in DSS custody owing to security challenge at Kuje Prison.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Saleh, Umar Bello, Mohammed Salisu, Yakubu Nuhu, Usman Abubakar and Halima were arraigned on an 11-count charge of terrorism, to which they all pleaded not guilty.

(NAN)