Officers of the Department of State Services (DSS), Abuja, have denied Emeka Ngornadi access to his lawyer following his arrest in April 2021.

On Monday, Festus Ogun, the lawyer representing Emeka, told FIJ that the DSS asked for a letter approved by its Director-General before he could see his client.

“The law stipulates that lawyers should have unfettered access to their clients, irrespective of the crime. It is frustrating to practise law in a lawless country and it is unfortunate that the DSS has become law itself,” Ogun said.

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Ogun also said denying the accused access to his lawyer is a violation that cannot be erased and can be taken up legally.

Emeka Ngornadi was arrested in April for sharing posts and making comments in support of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) online. He was picked up while returning to his heavily-pregnant wife from a business trip to Lagos and has remained in custody since then.

Ogun said he spoke with Ngornadi’s sister and that she narrated his ordeal in DSS net for sharing and reposting information he believed to be true about IPOB.  

FIJ placed several calls to the phone number of DSS spokesman Peter Afolayan but they were not answered. He has also not responded to text messages sent to his phone.