The Bureau News – The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to arraign Momoh Abubakar Otuhuo, a former community leader and proprietor of Jamaatul Muslimeen Academy in Eika, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, after holding him in detention for over three years without trial.
According to Nigeria News Today reports, a source confirmed to SaharaReporters on Monday that the DSS had contacted Momoh’s legal team to inform them of a court appearance scheduled at the Federal High Court, opposite the Ministry of Justice in Abuja.
“They called his lawyers already,” the source said.
Momoh, a trained laboratory technician, was arrested in early 2022 alongside three others — Idris Abdulmalik, a trainee nurse, and two Senior Secondary School students, Masters Aliyu Yusuf and Ishaq Awwal.
Family members allege that his arrest was linked to a personal dispute with the then Okehi Local Government Chairman, Ohiare. They insist that despite his innocence, DSS officials have kept him in custody without charge.
One family source recounted their desperate attempts to secure his release:
“We came from Kogi yesterday, and we were at the DSS headquarters protesting for the unconditional release of Momoh. DSS officials forcefully ejected us from the premises,” the source told The Bureau News.
Reports also claim that some DSS officials privately admitted that Momoh is innocent but are reluctant to release him, fearing public backlash for unlawfully detaining him for so long.
The family described the devastating impact of his detention on his wife, children, and elderly mother. Members of the mosque committee in his community reportedly raised funds to travel to Abuja, but they were allegedly chased away, with Momoh’s mother being physically pushed out of the DSS premises during a protest.
The family is now demanding his unconditional release and compensation, accusing the DSS of deceiving the public about its commitment to upholding human rights.
This case adds to growing concerns about the abuse of power, unlawful detentions, and lack of due process in Nigeria’s security agencies — an issue that has repeatedly drawn condemnation from human rights advocates both within and outside the country.
