The comedian and vlogger, Chukwu Emeka, popularly known on social media as Broda Mike, who was arrested by the Department of State Services on June 14, in Benin City, Edo State, is to be detained till July 7, 2022.
The lawyer to the comedian identified simply as Mr. Obo, confirmed to The PUNCH in a telephone conversation, Tuesday, that the DSS had a court order to detain Chukwu till July 7. This would make it 23 days from the day he was arrested.
“There is a court order remanding the guy. Until that time expires, there’s no way they can release him. He’s in custody based on the court order,” he said, adding that his remand till July 7 was an order from the Criminal Court two, Edo State.
The lawyer, upon his visit to him, also noted that the comedian was fine.
The comedian, Broda Mike, had been posting videos on his social media page, most of which were recently addressing poor governance, and insecurity, among others.
Efforts to reach the Edo State Spokesperson for the DSS proved abortive. Meanwhile the DSS Spokesperson at its headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Peter Afunanya, who had not spoken in detail on the arrest of the comedian, only shared a video of Broda Mike with our correspondent.
In the video, Broda Mike was seen reporting on a communal clash that had reportedly taken place in Benin market.
June 11, there was panic as traders clashed in Benin market. It was gathered that at the New Benin Market area of Benin City, the Edo State capital, angry youths, mainly traders, went on a rampage after an Igbo trader was allegedly attacked with a machete by another trader of northern extraction during a fracas.
The trouble was said to have started after a brief argument between the two traders. The Igbo trader was said to have ordered the Hausa trader to leave the front of his stall. The Hausa trader, who felt slighted, allegedly drew his machete and inflicted several cuts on the Igbo trader.
While fingers point to the fact that this video report could be the basis for the DSS arresting the comedian, others on social media were of the opinion that Broda Mike was arrested for using his skits to campaign against bad governance in the country.
Meanwhile, human rights activist and presidential aspirant of the African Action Congress has continued to call for the release of the comedian.
In a Facebook post, Sowore, reacting to the recent development, said, “the DSS has granted access to a family lawyer and #BrodaMike’s sister to see him. The good news is that he’s in high spirits.
“They’ve now claimed that a “Court Order” was obtained from an Edo State High Court to detain him till July 7, this is unacceptable.
“If he committed any offence(s), they’ve had enough time since June 14 to complete investigations and charge him to court, and so that we can get him out on bail. This is classic DSS arbitrary detention method/strategy.”
“DSS must release #BrodaMike immediately since there are no valid charges against him,” he said.
