The Department of State Services is still holding Emperor Gabriel Ogbonna, a lawyer arrested on the orders of Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State governor, over a Facebook post.
He was alleged to have posted that Ikpeazu visited a shrine outside the country where he swore to an oath of allegiance and secrecy to former governor of the state.
Ogbonna has denied being the originator of the post but that he only reshared it.
The lawyer was granted bail by a Federal High Court sitting at Umuahia, the state capital, on April 29 but rearrested hours later by the DSS.
Emperor Gabriel Ogbonna
On the day he was granted bail, government officials led by Chief of Staff to the governor, Dr. A.C Agbazuere, who incidentally is also a lawyer, accompanied by officials of the DSS forcefully attempted to rearrest Ogbonna within the premises of the Federal High Court but was resisted by prison officials and lawyers present because the bail term was yet to be perfected.
Upon obtaining the necessary documentation in the presence of prison warders, they drove to the Correctional Center at Afara Umuahia, rearrested Ogbonna and whisked him away to an unknown destination.
“He was released to the DSS officials and officials of Abia State Government on orders from above, they really wanted to deal with him,” a prison source told SaharaReporters at the time.
He is also yet to be charged to court 45 days after he was rearrested and detained.