The Arewa Council of Chiefs in Lagos has called on the Department of State Services to immediately release the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos, Aminu Idris Yaro, and his wife.
The chiefs lamented that Yaro and his wife had been detained by the DSS for about three days.
They also said the duo were held incommunicado after they honoured an invitation by the agency.
The Council of Chiefs, in a statement by their spokesperson and Jarman of Lagos, Yerima Shettima, said they learnt Yaro “is being held in connection with ongoing investigation of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.”
“We note also that the Sarkin Hausawa has been held by the DSS incommunicado for the last three days following what initially was a routine invitation which he dutifully honoured.
“The Council is not unaware of the friendship between the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos and Emefiele. What is regrettable is, however, the unexplained connection of a friend with the ongoing investigation of Emefiele who till this moment, as far as the public is concerned, is only being accused of possession of unlicensed firearm,” the statement said.
According to Shettima, “the Council is concerned that the DSS might typically be used to hunt down respected leaders of the community using terrorism fight as smoke screen.”
He said, “While the Council of Arewa Chiefs does not dispute the prerogative of the DSS and any security service in the country to invite any person it deems useful for any of its investigations, we, however, find the detention of the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos incommunicado and beyond the lawfully-allowed 24 hours by the DSS repugnant to the sensibilities of the traditional rulership system, the Arewa community and the Council of Chiefs.
“The Council of Arewa Chiefs, and indeed the Arewa Community in the South-West and every decent Nigerian and institution in Nigeria can without a doubt attest to the Sarkin Hausawa’s credibility, leadership, sacrifice, statesmanship, patriotism and unwavering commitment to the interest of the people of Northern Nigeria in the South, and citizens of Nigeria as whole. He is as well known never to lower the bar where the interest of the North, the unity and security of Nigeria, or the welfare of all citizens are involved.
“While the Council of Arewa Chiefs is very much aware of the obligations on every Nigerian to assist government agencies and institutions in the all-important fight against corruption within the laws of the land, and in building a nation united around the values of justice and honest enterprise, we nevertheless shall remain firm in the belief that security agencies are as much deserving of respect in the same manner the traditional institutions demand to be respected.
“Traditional rulers will first need to be accorded commensurate respect, their emasculation, maltreatment and harassment has to be ended and their revered place of respect assured before we can place any hope in them to do anything meaningful in the community.”
In the same vein, the Concerned Northern Forum has condemned the arrest and detention Yaro.
The CNF, in a statement by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Muhammed Danlami, urged the DSS to make public why the traditional ruler was arrested, saying, “Is Sarki Aminu a staff of the CBN? Is he a director or even a junior staff? The answer remains No.”
Danlami said, “On the contrary, Sarki Aminu Yaro is a traditional ruler, head of Hausa community in Lagos, a peaceful, harmless leader not capable of hurting a fly and a unifying factor who came in as a King and brought together the polarised Arewa community in Lagos and ended decades of rivalry, threats and destruction of lives and property.”
According to him, “the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu coming from Lagos is well aware of these facts and will concur that Sarki Aminu Yaro has played a very crucial role in neutralizing the tensed atmosphere of the Hausa community and even in relation to other ethnic groups in Lagos.”
