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Mass arrest: DSS apprehends Peace Corps Commandant, 40 others

Published

10 years ago

March 1, 2017

By OKOSUN DENNIS

The Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday night, arrested the National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Mr. Dickson Akoh and over 40 other members of the Corps for no specific offence.

National Daily learnt that Mr. Akoh is still been detained at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.

Confirming the arrest of the commandant and 40 others, the PCN Public Relations Officer, Milicent Umoru, said over 40 officers of the corps were arrested by DSS operatives, accompanied by the police and army.

It was further gathered that the operatives came in the night and commanded everyone to lie face down. The commandant was said to have been ordered to follow them and those that said they must follow him as he was been taken away were beaten.

“One of the assaulted officers was a female. She was repeatedly hit with a gun butt until she lost consciousness. She was later rushed to the National Hospital, Abuja,” a witness said.

Peace corps, though has been allegedly been operating illegally, has had clashes with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Osun in January and Nigerian police leading to the shutting down of their training camp in Offa, Kwara state.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Senate had in December 2016, passed the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill to empower the youth operate as a security outfit under the Ministry of Interior.

However, the bill for that act establishing PCN is currently awaiting presidential assent.