BREAKING: Ekiti lawmaker dead in EFCC detention: Commissioner --Daily Trust

Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose

Ekiti state government on Thursday claimed that the detained member of the state House of Assembly from Efon constituency, Hon Afolabi Akanni, has died in the cell of the Department of State Service (DSS).

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, who made the claim at a brief press conference in the Governor's Office said information reaching the state government confirmed that the lawmaker developed ailment at night and died in the cell of the DSS on Thursday morning.

The lawmaker was arrested by the DSS since the alleged invasion of the assembly on March 4 during which the lawmakers claimed four of their colleagues were taken away to an unknown destination by the officials of the DSS.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti had on March 11 ordered the DSS to release the lawmaker from its custody or produce him in the next adjourned date.

This followed a suit number FHC/AD/CS/8/16 filed on behalf of Hon. Akanni by his counsel, Obafemi Adewale, seeking his immediate release.

When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, the DSS did not produce the lawmaker prompting his counsel to say that the non-production of Akanni was as a result of the recalcitrant posture of the DSS to receive the production warrant issued on it.

Sequel to his continued detention, his lawyer on Wednesday filed an application for substituted service on DSS.

Justice Taiwo ruled in favour of the application owing to difficulty being encountered in the service of the production warrant on the DSS and granted order of substituted service which he said must be published in two national newspapers before adjourning the matter to March 24 for further hearing.