Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, has approached the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo seeking for the protection and enforcement of his fundamental human rights against the Director General of the Department of State Services; Osun State Director of the DSS; and Femi Oyetola, son of the former Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, who is now the Minister of Blue Economy.
The suit by Rasheed before the Federal High Court in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, was numbered: FHC/OS/CS/89/2024.
In it, he is praying the court to restrain the security operatives, either personally or through any of their agents or representatives, from inviting him, arresting him or threatening his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of expression and freedom of association in any manner on the malicious instigation of Femi Oyetola, who is acting the script of some faceless and mischievous politicians who are collaborating to settle political scores against him.
In the suit registered on March 22, 2024, he fingered Femi Oyetola as being embittered with the loss of his father and their political gang in the last Osun State governorship election, and as the mouthpiece of the incumbent Governor of Osun State, who upstaged Femi’s father, Oyetola, he is being maliciously hunted by members of the opposition All Progressives Congress using Femi in active collaboration with security agents, to trample upon his fundamental rights.
Rasheed deposed to the fact that he is not in anyway a threat to the internal peace and security of Nigeria or any part thereof to warrant security agents to invite him, but the move by the collaborators is in a bid to play the cards of the opposition APC, who are planning to have him illegally arrested and unlawfully detained so as to subdue him or hijack from him his fundamental rights to liberty, freedom of movement, expression and association, which he is entitled to at all times since he has not committed any offence to warrant the curtailment of his fundamental rights.
He submitted in the court documents that by virtue of section 46 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, he needs not wait till his rights are trampled upon before approaching the court.
In Rasheed’s opinion, Oyetola’s move is in connivance with the unsettled opposition APC who are troubled by the daily exposure of their bad governance, unpalatable and unprogressive deeds, which they meted out to Osun State people while the APC led by Oyetola was in power.
The plaintiff further pointed out that the media agents of the opposition APC have already bombarded the media with the news of his invitation/arrest by the DSS, and that they (APC) have started rejoicing that the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke is already in the net or will be in the net of the security agents and they will ensure they pressurise the security agents not to release, but punish him unjustly having not committed any offence.
He said this is a pointed indication that the invitation is tainted with malice and witch hunt of the opposition APC with the sole goal of settling political scores with prominent aides and members of Governor Adeleke’s Team.
Rasheed therefore entreated the court to grant his reliefs so as not allow the defendants to collaborate at trampling upon his rights or get at him unjustifiably.
He has also dispatched his team of legal practitioners to represent him at the DSS Headquarters, which is within his rights as a citizen of Nigeria.
