Family Alleges DSS Has Held UniAbuja Graduate for Three Years Without Charges or Trial

The family of Zubair Hady Muhammed, a graduate of the University of Abuja from Kogi State, has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of detaining him for over three years without charge, trial, or access to his relatives and lawyers.

Muhammed was reportedly arrested by DSS operatives on January 28, 2023, alongside four of his neighbours in the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory. While the other individuals were released months later, Muhammed remains in custody, with no official explanation for his continued detention.

Family members say he has been held incommunicado since his arrest, leaving them traumatised and without any information about his whereabouts or the offence he is alleged to have committed.

According to his younger brother, Zubair Adinoyi, repeated efforts to engage the DSS through letters and legal channels have failed.

“We don’t even know where he is,” Adinoyi said. “For the past three years, my father has tried to follow the same process that led to the release of the neighbours’ children, but we still have no answers. The whole family is in pain. We don’t know who to run to anymore.”

Adinoyi said the DSS never formally informed the family of the reason for Muhammed’s arrest. However, information allegedly obtained from the released neighbours suggested that Muhammed was detained over a conversation with an old acquaintance.

According to the account, the DSS claimed Muhammed was their primary target after tracking a suspect identified as Abdulsamad Ohiani, who allegedly had recent Facebook chats with Muhammed. Ohiani was said to be an old secondary school friend.

“My brother is a hardworking and decent young man,” Adinoyi said. “He finished secondary school in 2015 and later studied Biological Sciences at the University of Abuja. We later heard that Ohiani was also arrested, but we still don’t understand why my brother remains in detention.”

Legal concerns have also been raised by Wanche Christian, principal partner at Unicorn Legal Consult, one of the lawyers representing the family. He said the DSS initially rejected a formal letter sent to the agency, forcing his team to resend it through a courier service.

“After the letter was delivered, a DSS operative contacted me and said Muhammed had been transferred to a special detention facility to face a ‘special trial,’” Christian said.

He added that the operative also claimed the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria was aware of and involved in the matter. Based on this information, Christian said he wrote to the council in October 2025, requesting details of the alleged trial and demanding Muhammed’s unconditional release.

“He has never been charged before any court, nor has he been informed of any offence,” the lawyer said. “This prolonged detention raises serious constitutional and human rights concerns that require urgent scrutiny.”

Efforts by journalists to get clarification from the DSS were unsuccessful. An officer who answered a call to a DSS line denied knowledge of the case and said he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

The lawyer also petitioned the Senate, seeking legislative intervention to secure Muhammed’s release, but no response had been received as of press time.

Attempts to obtain comments from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria were also unsuccessful. Calls to the council’s official contact line yielded a request to send a formal letter or email. An email was subsequently sent, but no reply had been received at the time of filing this report.

Muhammed’s family continues to appeal to authorities and human rights institutions, insisting that he be either charged in a court of law or released immediately, in line with constitutional guarantees.