THREATEN TO SUE DSS..

Threatens to sue DSS
A judge of the Abuja federal high court, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, has opened up on his ordeals in the hands of operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) on the day the security agency launched an unprecedented nationwide sting operations against serving judicial officers over purported allegations of corruption against them.

Justice Dimgba is one of the judges awaiting arraignment by the DSS if any charge is eventually filed against him.

He broke his silence on how he was rough-handled in a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) dated October 10, 2016.

He said that the operatives of the DSS invaded his house without any search warrant, rough-handled him when he demanded for their authority paper to search his house and had to flee when his life was under threat to allow them have their way.

He said he managed to flee his house that night for an open garden where he passed the night.

Giving background to how his ordeal began, Justice Dimgba said he could recollect that an officer of the DSS, Ahamed Ahmad in the Office of the Director General of the security agency had written a petition alleging corruption against him.

He said the petition was dated August 5, 2016 and addressed to the National Judicial Council for its investigation.

Justice Dimgba said that as soon as the NJC got the petition, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed issued him a query attaching the petition.

The CJN who is the Chairman of the NJC demanded for his reply to the query.

The judge said he quickly answered the petition with a 31-paragraph response, detailing all he knew regarding the issue in question.

The reply to the petition which has been seen and personally signed by the judge, Dr Nnamdi O. Dimgba was dated September 4.

He said with his response, the stage was set for the NJC to either probe further if it was not satisfied with his response or set up a committee to interface him with his accusers.

However, Justice Dimgba said that while the petition was still receiving attention at the NJC, the DSS began to harass him and his support staff in the court.

He said his registrar, Blessing Ugwu was invited by the DSS on September 15, 2016, fishing for evidence from her against him.

He narrated that the woman registrar was detained for a whole day before she was let go.

He added that at another unspecified date, she was re-invited, but this time, the DSS was harsher with her.

He said the operatives of the DSS collected her phone to search if they would be able to get any link between her and the judge relating to the case or any other at all but that they got nothing.

He added that they also invited another registrar in the court 4 of the Abuja division of the Federal high court looking for incriminating evidence against him which they could not get.

Justice Dimgba said that was the pattern of his ordeals in the hands of men of the DSS until October 7 when over 20 operatives of the DSS again in five operational vehicles stormed his house to search without search warrant.

Hear him: “On Friday 7th October, 2016 by 8pm at night, a team of over 20 DSS operatives in about 5 operational vehicles invaded my official residence at No 30 Ogbemudia Crescent, Apo Legislative Quarters, Zone E saying that they had come to search my residence.

“When I asked, they first presented me with a search warrant for a No 19 Ogbemudia Crescent, Apo Legislative Quarters, Zone E and which had a John Inyang Okoro as Defendant.

“When I explained to them that my house address was not 19 Ogbemudia Crescent, Apo Legislative Quarters, Zone E, and that my name was certainly not John Inyang Okoro on the search warrant, the DSS team leader explained that there was a mix-up, and then presented me with another search warrant for 30 Ogbemudia Crescent, Apo Legislative Quarters, Zone E but which had A.F.A. Ademola as the Defendant.

“When I also explained that I was not A.F.A. Ademola but that my name was Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, the DSS team leader stated that whatever was the case, (they) the DSS were under instructions from above to search Justice Nnamdi Dimgba’s house.

” When I tried to resist the search of my house in the absence of any search warrant for me and my residence, the DSS operatives became physical with me and out of fear for my life, given the level of aggression, I managed to depart my residence to seek refuge in the garden of the house of a Senator from Ebonyi State who resides in the house adjacent to mine.

“I endured the whole ordeal in this open garden as the Senator was away.

“Thereafter, the DSS operatives turned on my 18 year old nephew who resides with me, by name Ifeanyi Anieke and my driver, John Albert, beat them to pulp with their guns, and forced their way into my residence, and ransacked the entire house in the course of execution of a non-existent search warrant.

“When the DSS operatives finished and could not find anything incriminating such as money in local and/or foreign currencies in my house as they had hoped, they then departed my residence.

“In leaving my residence, I wish to note that the DSS operatives went away with my work bag containing a number of case files which I had planned to work on for the weekend in relation to Judgments adjourned for Monday 10th October, 2016 and Tuesday 11th October, 2016, and also my own copy of the Reply dated 4th September, 2016 which I had sent to the NJC to the DSS’s Petition against me.

“The case files taken away by the NJC are the following: a) FHC/CS/1081/14 – NNAMANI C.N. DAVIDSON VS. PDP & 2 ORS; b) FHC/CS/180/16 – UGWUALA CHRISTIAN ONYEBUCHI ESQ VS. A.E.P.B & 4 ORS; and c) FHC/CS/203/16 – WOOD & FRAMES LTD & ANOR VS. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION & ANOR,” Justice Dimgba added.

He however pleaded with the CJN and the entire NJC to prevail on the DSS to stop harassing him for nothing.

He has also served a notice to the CJN that he would sue the DSS for all they did to him on the night of October 7, this year.

His reply to the query issued him by the CJN regarding the petition that was written against him is also published.