President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Barr. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere has been arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) over his running battle with the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Barr. Solomon Dalung.
A statement signed by Ikenga’s elder brother, Obinna Ikeagwuonu noted that the Ikeagwuonu family has information that the NYCN President was arrested following petition authored by the Minister of Youths and Sports
Development, Barr. Solomon Dalung who the council under Ikeagwuonu indefinitely suspended from the Board of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and had gone further to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to summarily sack him as Minister.
The statement also reads in part, “Ikenga was also alleged to be working with people the state is not happy with. If these people who the state is not happy with refer to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, then Ikenga has has no apology for captors. He is proud of his association with Dr. Bukola Saraki and would boldly stand by him. Ikenga will not deny Saraki because of oppression of the state.”
Continuing, Obinna Ikegwuonu said, “Ikenga we are informed has not been shown any petition so far. Ikenga is a law abiding citizen who has approached the Courts in defence of his mandate as the NYCN President which Solomon Dalung has severally boasted he will snatch from him. His lawyers have initiated contempt proceedings against Mr. Dalung and instead of the Minister to go to Court; he is using his office and institutions of State to attempt to
intimidate Ikenga.”
The Ikeagwuonu family noted that Ikenga had informed his family of his
invitation to the office of the DSS, Monday by 10:00hrs by a call from
the Assistant Director Internal Security, adding that he has not been seen nor heard from since the time he entered the premises of the DSS.
“Every attempt by his family, lawyers and personal physician to have access to him have been denied by the security outfit. Ikenga is the President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and the family has been facing immense pressure from different youth groups calling to know his whereabout. We have limits to our strength to withstand this pressure if Nigerian youths decides to approach the State and demand for the whereabouts of their leader”, the statement read.
The family stressed that the DSS, Dalung and their paymasters should be held responsible if anything untoward befalls the youth leader.