Three workers of the Lagos State House of Assembly have been remanded by the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly ass@ulting officials of the Department of State Services (DSS).
On Tuesday, February 25, Justice Daniel Osiagor directed that Ibrahim Olanrewaju, Adetu Adekunle, and Fatimoh Adetola be held in custody pending their arraignment on Wednesday, February 26.
The DSS charged the three workers with offences related to the alleged ass@ult on its officials while they were on official duty. The secret police also accused them of cyberstalking, recording, and circulating false information on social media to undermine law and order in the country. According to the DSS, the trio engaged in “willful misdirection of electronic messages to social media to embarrass its officials” while they were on duty at the Lagos assembly complex on February 17.
When DSS counsel Michael Bajela approached the court for their arraignment, Justice Osiagor said he needed to review the case file before proceeding.
On February 17, videos circulated on social media showing DSS operatives inside the Lagos assembly complex, leading to allegations that they had obstructed lawmakers from holding a plenary session. In one of the videos, DSS operatives were seen in a physical struggle with lawmakers, sparking mixed reactions from the public.
Further details later emerged that the DSS was officially invited to the assembly complex by the acting clerk to maintain order following intelligence that Mudashiru Obasa, the ousted speaker, planned to resume office on February 18—a move the assembly believed posed a security risk.
The Lagos assembly has remained in the spotlight since the removal of Obasa as speaker on January 13 while he was out of the country, and the election of Mojisola Meranda as his replacement. Upon his return, Obasa refused to accept his removal, insisting that due process was not followed and declaring himself the legitimate speaker of the house.
