By Muhammad Mamman
Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of unlawfully detaining him and denying him access to legal counsel, actions he says amount to a grave violation of his constitutional rights.
In a statement released on Monday, Malami claimed that since his detention, operatives of the DSS have persistently prevented his lawyers from seeing him, despite repeated requests. He described the development as a direct affront to the rule of law and due process, stressing that the right to legal representation is guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.
The former justice minister argued that any form of detention without prompt access to lawyers and without being charged to court within the time prescribed by law is unconstitutional. He maintained that the alleged actions of the DSS undermine democratic principles and set a dangerous precedent.
Malami further called on the authorities to either charge him to court or immediately grant him access to his legal team, warning that continued detention without due process could erode public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system.
