Hundreds of youths operating under the aegis of National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Friday stormed Owerri the Imo State capital to protest against what they called continued and unlawful detention of their president and Special Assistant to Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Youth and Students Matters, Barr. Imo Ugochinyere Michael Ikenga by the Department of State Services (DSS) in its custody since Monday 25 April, 2016 upon a purported petition of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung.
Recall that it was reported that Ugochinyere’s family released a statement on Tuesday saying that he had been detained by the DSS after his invitation by the Assistant Director of Internal Security.
Loading ...The youths, who carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “Free Ikenga now, impunity can’t stand”, “DSS is enforcing lawlessness”, “We say no to impunity #freeIkenga”, “Nigerian youths stand by Ikenga”, and others, matched to the state government house Owerri, where they presented their position paper with a demand for the immediate release of their leader from the DSS custody.
In a statement signed by Comrade Nnonyelum Williams, Vice President, South East and Amb. Mac-Ake I. Prince, Vice President, South South, the youths stated that they viewed view the arrest as a clear affront to the integrity of the Nigerian Youth and flagrant abuse of the due process of law.
“This is against the backdrop of the unconstitutional breaches of the fundamental right to liberty made subject to the spurious conditions set forth by the DSS for the release of the President of Nigerian Youths”, the statement reads in part.
It added that the NYCN owed no apology whatsoever to the person of Solomon Dalung, without prejudice to the Office of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development and that the council would not be coerced into withdrawing its Contempt proceedings pending against Solomon Dalung and others in the High Court of the FCT.
“We further state with all sense of responsibility that, Barr. Imo U. M. Ikenga shall not, in the absence of cogent and verifiable evidence of misconduct in breach of the Constitution of the NYCN, resign his office as President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.
“The arrest of Mr. President is unconstitutional and lacking in every sense of legality. Be it established that the NYCN and its leadership shall not be immersed in political in-fighting as the Council is not an arm of any political party in Nigeria or elsewhere”, it reads, saying that the youths was objecting to any and every attempt by anybody to want to use the machinery of State against the constitutional government of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.
They warned that such arbitrary and extra- judicial actions of agencies of state were no less than barbaric, oppressive and constitute most regrettably, executive rascality.
They called on the DSS to exercise caution and restraint in allowing itself to be used as stooge to some public officers in covering their nefarious activities against the interest of the Nigerian Youth.
The youths threatened that they would not hesitate to institute legal proceedings against the DSS upon failure to release their president within 24 hours of the notice
