The family and lawyer of an opposition politician arrested in Kogi State on Saturday have called on Governor Yahaya Bello to help secure his release.
The wife of Etudaye Momoh, Joy, and his lawyer, Mike Bello, called Premium Times on Saturday night and Sunday morning, alleging that he was arrested by unknown security operatives in Okene around 2:00 a.m. Saturday.
Mr. Momoh, widely known and addressed as ‘Etuz’ in downtown Okene, was described as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Nigeria’s main opposition.
He was arrested at his residence at Coca-Cola Depot by a combined team of police, State Security Service and Army, his wife and lawyer said.
“The men gained access to the house by climbing through the fence and breaking down Mr. Momoh’s door. They promptly rounded him up and told him they were sent by the authorities to bring him to the office,” Mr. Bello said in a follow up email to Premium Times late Saturday.
Mrs. Momoh said her husband was arrested by operatives who had ‘DSS’ inscribed on their gears at the presence of their six-year-old son. The SSS is also known as ‘DSS’, and the agency had been known to deploy agents with ‘DSS’ signs on them in recent years.
Family members said their preliminary findings suggested that Mr. Momoh, 36, was being held at a facility run by the SSS in Lokoja, the state capital. He didn’t have any clash with government prior to his arrest, his family said.
Premium Times could not reach the SSS because the agency does not have a spokesperson.
Wilson Inalegwu, the Commissioner of Police in Kogi, told Premium Times he was not aware of the development.
The Kogi government spokesperson, Petra Onyegbule, said the Bello administration had no knowledge of the incident.
Shehu Lukman, vice chairman of Okene Local Government Area, said he would make make efforts to unravel those behind the arrest and get back to Premium Times.
At least three opposition figures have been detained in Kogi within the last three months.
In March, Abdulrahman Mohammed, a PDP chieftain, was detained in Lokoja.
The following month, police arrested Austin Okai, a PDP blogger and strategist, in Abuja and transported him to Lokoja where he was later arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court.
Governor Bello strongly denied ordering the arrests.
“Mr. Momoh must not be allowed to be wasted by enemies of democracy,” his lawyer said.
Credit: Premium Times
