It emerged at the weekend that officials of the State Security Services (SSS) opted for a secret trial of the suspects of the October 1, 2010 bomb blasts in Abuja as a result of the need to preserve the sanctity of certain leads being pursued by the investigators.
Information at the disposal of the Sunday Tribune indicated that the SSS, working in conjunction with other international agencies has so far got to the roots of the October 1 crime but was still working on some vital aspects of the confessional statements so far made by the suspects in custody.
Sources confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that confirmed reasons SSS operatives have been mindful of the need to preserve the rule of law and the fundamental rights of the suspects since their arrest over the bomb blasts.
The source said that the State Security Services had promptly taken the suspects to court to ensure that they were lawfully detained when it was obvious that their trial would take a longer time.
It was gathered that besides those already arrested, there are still some knots being untied in the investigation process, which necessitated the secrecy of the first stage of trial.
A source said that the SSS would eventually throw open the trial once some of the loose ends are tied.
“Remember that over 700 pages of text messages were downloaded during the investigation into this crime. Many of them have remote connections with some forces that the operatives are still working on. There is a particular case of one of the messages which was advertised on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), some issues that are not properly resolved yet and there is the need to still keep the identity of some persons,” a source said.
It was gathered that the decision to take the suspects to court on Thursday was as a result of the need to establish the preliminary stages of the trial and that operatives are still on the trail of some suspects.
“Information available in the government circles is that the security operatives have gone far in their investigations but they were mindful of the cry for the rule of law and the need to protect the fundamental rights of the suspects. That is why they are mindful of the way the suspects are being kept. They took the suspects to court for the preliminary stages, but there are some issues which are still pending.
For instance, there are some suspects who they are still trailing. This is a delicate matter and they are trying to tie all loose ends,” the source said.
It was gathered that the SSS was trying to follow international protocols in handling the suspects in view of the international dimension to the bomb blasts.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had on Friday rejected the secret trial of the bomb suspects, because they were not allowed access to their counsels.
NBA President Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) said on Friday that the decision to opt for secret trial by the SSS was illegal. He said that SSS operatives denied the suspects access to their lawyers.
While reacting to the trial, NBA President told the media on Friday: “Firstly, denial of right to counsel is a grave breach of the accused’s fundamental rights as well as an assault on the due process of law. It is a monumental embarrassment to the trial; procedure in Nigeria that our officials can by such misbehavior taint a bonafide criminal proceeding irretrievably.
“Secondly, the exclusion of journalists from criminal proceedings no matter how serious deprives Nigerians of their right to freedom of information.
“Thirdly, the magistrate ought not to have engaged in judicial proceedings where it was apparent that his court had been barricaded with counsel excluded. What he has unwittingly acceded to is to render the entire proceedings a farce devoid of the minimum standards of a criminal trial.
“Fourthly, the state security services cannot act as policemen or prosecutors in a criminal trial. There is, according to the constitution, only one police force. The SSS cannot and is not a police force. This action is hereby confounded. We hope that there will be no repeat of this ludicrous incident.”
Source:http://tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/news/2371-abuja-bomb-blasts-why-sss-opted-for-secrettrial
No comments:
Post a Comment