BREAKING: DSS invites Lagos natives for suing state govt over Dangote’s $100m land deal

By KEMI KASUMU

“Their plan is to pressure us to back out from joining the case against the Lagos State Government but we will not bow to any intimidation,” he relayed his experience with DSS to his people Thursday afternoon.

The Department of State Services (DSS) in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, on Thursday, invited one of the Conveners of Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, Comrade Jamiu Olayinka.

The Lagos natives leader, who was at work, was asked to find a means to lensure that he honoured the impromptu invitation of the secret police at 10:00 that Thursday morning.

Having contacted his lawyers with members of the native group he leads, Comrade Jamiu Olayinka went to honour the DSS’ invitation, which was passed to him via a telephone conversation by a man, who introduced himself as the Director of DSS Ibeju-Lekki Local Government describing the location of the Service’s office in the area.

Although he was not detained, his people had insisted that he should give them all the details of what transpired as they had told him before he left for their office that they suspected the invitation was due to the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum’s involvement in the suit against Lagos State.

The state was sued regarding the Dangote Refinery’s $100 million paid to them over the natives land taken without compensation and claimed to have been given free for the Dangote’s refinery building some nine years ago.

As predicted by the people, Comrade Jamiu Olayinka confirmed their thought as right. He said, “I was asked about the case and I told them we are not going back.

“I told the (DSS) man that I have every right to sue Lagos State Government for the issues.

“And he asked to know what can we use to back up our Association and I showed him our registered certificate with CAC. He became perplexed when he saw the registered certification.

“Their plan is to pressure us to back out from joining the case against the Lagos State Government but we will not bow to any intimidation,” he relayed his experience with DSS to his people Thursday afternoon.

In the meantime, the Yakubu Eleto Chambers, lawyers to the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, have expressed concerns that the Lagos State Government, instead of providing answers to the simple questions asked by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, “have now resorted to using the Department of State Services (DSS) to find a way of intimidating our clients, who had decided to join in the suit that followed  seven days after the state government failed to provide the information demanded by the natives.”

It will be recalled that De Renaissance Patriots Foundation wrote the government in a letter addressed to Governor Sanwo-Olu asking to be furnished with information about whether or not Dangote actually paid them the said amount of $100 million as claimed by its President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to whom bank account the money was paid, who handled the money and what it was used for.

Principal Partner of the Law Firm and human rights lawyer, Barrister Yakubu Eleto Esq, who spoke to the press said, “We are lawyers to both De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, who wrote a letter on July 27, 2024, to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, under the Freedom of Information Act.”

According to the fiery lawyer, the group of very eminent citizens  wrote the governor “asking for information regarding the revelation by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.”

He said, “And the FOI Act states that the government or any other such public office so written can be sued if, after seven days, it fails to provide the information demanded. The Lagos State Government failed in this regard and we decided to go to court to seek an Order of Mandamus to  compel the state government to provide the information.

“Because the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum is a group of the Lagos State indigenes who are directly affected by the development, their leaders and members decided to join in the case and, instead for Governor Sanwo-Olu to now be humble enough by committing to the rule of law awaiting his day in court, he already resorted to using the DSS to pressurize and intimidate the natives in order for them to be cut off from involving themselves in the case and that will be unacceptable,” the human rights lawyer said.