The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, was on Wednesday detained by men of the Department of State Security Service at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on arrival from France.
Frank told journalists that he was detained by security agents at the Immigration point at the airport for over one hour and was later released without anybody saying anything to him.
“I arrived the Abuja International airport at about 5pm on Tuesday on my way from Paris, France. At the Immigration point where they normally stamp the passport, I was stopped by a lady who walked to me with three others in mufti.
“As soon as I dropped my passport, she ceased the passport and asked me to move aside. I asked why and she said it was an instruction which I must obey.
“As a law abiding citizen, I obeyed and moved aside. Without telling me anything, she took me to where other security agents were sitting and said that I should sit there, and asked the other SSS people there to keep me in their custody until she gets further clearance.
“I asked the man sitting beside me why I was being treated like a member of Boko Haram. So, I have decided to let Nigerians know that as we get closer to the 2015 elections, there is a form of crackdown on some opposition leaders by the security agencies, including the SSS who are now being used to harass and intimidate opposition leaders in Nigeria.
“This is maybe the first step. For me, it may be a small one, but I can assure you that this is another strategy they have adopted to intimidate opposition leaders. Let me also assure you that no amount of intimidation from security agents will stop me.
“Despite being the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, I am also an activist. I have been talking and fighting for the right of Nigerians. I have been fighting against corruption in this country.
“No amount of intimidation from the SSS or any other security agency will stop me from speaking and not even the Presidency.
“As I speak, this is a very serious issue. My life is under threat and it is very important to let you know that if anything happens to me from today, the Nigerian security agencies must be held responsible. The job of the SSS is to protect Nigerians and not to harass Nigerians or the opposition.
“When they released me after over one hour, they did not say anything to me. The surprising thing was that my passport was not even stamped. It was when I was in the car, going through the passport pages to confirm whether it was stamped that I realized that it was not stamped.”
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