The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed terrorism charges against Amudat Babatunde, a female blogger who went live on Facebook around 2 a.m. on July 1, 2021, during a raid on the Ibadan residence of Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, by the DSS in collaboration with sister agencies.
They are two of the 12 arrested aides of the activist who have yet to be released by the secret police. This is despite the fact that a Federal High Court in Abuja granted them bail on August 4, 2021, and the secret police has not yet released them.
The blogger, who goes under the name of ‘Lady K ifeoluwa show' on Facebook and has over 17,000 followers, went live on Facebook at midnight on July 1 during the raid on Igboho's house by Nigerian security personnel.
Lady K, seated on a bed in a room in one of the flats in Igboho's property in the Soka region of Ibadan, had recorded a 12-minute video, in which she informed the world that DSS operatives had "attacked" the residence of her employer in the Soka section of the city.
An anxious Lady K had remarked, in a video that was still available on her Facebook page at the time of publishing this article, "Please share this video, troops have stormed Chief Sunday Igboho's residence." Currently, we are under attack. The Nigerian military has launched an attack on us at Chief Sunday Igboho's residence....
It's possible to hear the gunfire. It's around 2 a.m. now. They had been shooting for more than ten minutes at this point. It was necessary for me to validate it before proceeding with this story. I woke up because I could hear their bullets. I'm unable to come out at this time. They told me not to come out, but to inform the world through this Facebook Live video instead.
After the raid, Igboho's spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, claimed that the DSS had removed the closed-circuit television from his principal's house, an allegation that the DSS has not denied.
Lady K was alleged to be a part of the Yoruba Nation arrowhead's media team until the DSS detained her and 11 others during the raid on their compound. It was also claimed by the secret police that its agents killed two further associates of the activist during a "gun duel."
Lady K and 11 other individuals had contacted the court through their attorneys in order to exercise their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted bail to the 12 detainees on August 4, 2021, but the DSS released 10 of them last week and detained the blogger and Oyetunji, who had been detained for more than 60 days following their arrest on July 1.
The lawyers for Lady K and Oyetunji, including Pelumi Olajengbesi, had pleaded with the Department of State Services to obey court orders and release the detainees on bail, while three Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Femi Falana, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, and Ifedayo Adedipe, said that the DSS was inviting anarchy and lawlessness into the country by refusing to comply with the court order.
Additionally, Olajengbesi had threatened to file a contempt of court action against Yusuf Bichi, the director-general of the Department of State Services.
On the other hand, the DSS, through one of its lawyers, S.M. Bello, filed five terrorism-related accusations against Oyetunji and Babatunde, commonly known as Lady K, in a suit with the filing date of August 31, 2021 and the case number FHC/ABJ/CR/305/2021.
The DSS said that Oyetunji and Lady K were in possession of firearms for the purpose of engaging in terrorism-related activities, and that Lady K particularly supported terrorist acts on her Facebook page.
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