The agency, established under military rule in 1986, has a penchant for disobeying court orders and has continued to do so despite a recent statement by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad.
On September 23, Mr Muhammad said the judiciary under his watch will not tolerate disobedience of subsisting court orders.
He described disobedience to court orders as creating “anarchy.”
“The rule of law must be observed in all our dealings and we must impress it on the governments at all levels to actively toe the path.
“The right of every citizen against any form of oppression and impunity must be jealously guarded and protected with the legal tools at our disposal.
“All binding court orders must be obeyed. Nobody, irrespective of his or her position, will be allowed to toy with court judgments,” the chief justice said.
Days after his warning, the SSS has again declined obedience to a court ruling. In this analysis, PREMIUM TIMES looks at major instances where the SSS had disobeyed court orders under President Buhari’s administration.
The SSS is headed by a Director-General who is chosen by the president and reports directly to him.
Mr Buhari has never condemned the SSS for disobeying the court orders and his appointees have repeatedly defended the disobedience.
Sambo Dasuki
Mr Dasuki has been held by the SSS since December 2015 when he was arrested on allegations he diverted $2.1 billion from funds meant for the war against terrorism.
He has denied wrongdoing and is yet to be convicted.
Several court orders for the release of the former NSA had been flouted by the Nigerian government.
Since his arrest and arraignment before the Federal High Court, Abuja, Mr Dasuki has been granted bail at least seven times by various courts, with the SSS refusing to heed all the orders.
In one of Mr Dasuki’s reactions to his continued detention despite court orders for his bail, the former NSA approached the court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) in 2016. The court ruled that his continued detention despite a valid court order granting him bail, was unlawful and an affront to his fundamental human rights.
The court also ruled that the federal government should pay Mr Dasuki N15 million as damages, adding that the cost of litigation should also be charged against the Nigerian government.
Despite the court judgement and criticism by local and international human rights activists, Mr Dasuki is still detained by the government.
In a recent development, the Court of Appeal granted yet another bail to the former NSA, in July 2019.
The court also ordered the federal government to pay Mr Dasuki N5 million for holding him against the provisions of section 35 (6) of the constitution which gives every Nigerian the right to free movement.
The government has also refused to obey the appeal court while Mr Dasuki remains in SSS custody.
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky
In December 2015, the Nigerian government also arrested the leader of the proscribed Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, after a clampdown by the army that resulted in the death of over 300 Shiite members. The soldiers had accused the Shiite group of blocking a major road that was to be used by the army chief, Tukur Buratai.
That massacre of the Shiites has been condemned by local and international rights groups.
Since the December 2015 incident, Mr El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah, have been detained by the SSS; first without trial for over two years before they were arraigned on charges of murder for the death of a soldier during the December 2015 incident.
In 2016, when Mr El-Zakzaky was still being held without trial, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the SSS to release him and his wife on bail.
Omoyele Sowore
A Federal High Court judge, Taiwo Taiwo, on September 24 ordered the immediate release of Mr Sowore after the prosecution informed the court of its completion of investigations into the allegations against the activist.
“It is therefore ordered that the respondent be released forthwith. But he must deposit his international passport with this court within 48 hours of this order.
“Further, the respondent shall be released to Femi Falana forthwith by the applicant, that is the State Security Service (SSS).
“Femi Falana shall ensure that the respondent is produced for his formal arraignment whenever he or the respondent is notified.
Five days after that court order and four days after Mr Sowore met the bail conditions, the SSS has refused to obey the order.
Many Nigerians have since expressed doubt that the SSS and the Buhari administration would obey the court order, following the disobedience of earlier ones.
Mr Sowore was arrested on August 3 by the SSS for planning a protest popularised with the hashtag #RevolutionNow.
