Why we won’t release Ifeanyi Ubah – DSS

The Department of States Services, DSS, on Friday explained it had secured a court order authorising it to detain the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, in its custody for at least 14 days.

The DSS counsel, Peter Oluremodu, who appeared before Justice Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday with a notice of objection to the order to produce Ubah in court, said Ubah was being detained on the orders of Justice Y. Haliru of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The lawyer said the order was lawfully obtained in compliance with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

Ubah’s lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, urged Justice Idris to hold that the DSS violated his order by not producing Ubah.

Ubah had described his arrest as an attempt to blackmail him.

The oil magnate said the claim by the DSS that he was involved in theft of petrol kept by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in his tank farm in Lagos was wrong accusation.

DSS last Friday picked up Ubah over his connection with the missing petroleum product, valued at over N11bn.

It said Ubah’s action amounted to economic sabotage, with “capacity to negatively impact on national economy”.