Reactions as DSS operatives raid Party Secretariat ahead of Presidential elections
The recent raid of the secretariat of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State by the Department of Security Services (DSS) has sparked a heated controversy between the party and the secret police.
According to reports, the party, shortly after the raid, accused the DSS of intimidating its members and carrying out raids on its campaign offices in the state.
But the secret police, in a swift reaction, said it has been neutral in carrying out its duties and it has offered all political parties equal opportunities, saying it only retrieved dangerous weapons from campaign offices of some politicians.
The allegation by the NNPP, a leading opposition party in the state, comes just a few days after the party accused the police leadership in the state of working with the state government to harass and arrest its members.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Umar Haruna Doguwa, the chairman of NNPP in Kano, alleged that the offices of the directors of Support Groups and that of the director of Youth Mobilization were raided by men of the DSS.
“We are horrified to note that the men of the DSS were brazenly bringing weapons from their vehicles and putting them in the offices of our directors. This was done in the presence of our campaign staff, who also recorded the incident on video. We have pictures and video evidence of this flagrant setup.
“We write to draw the attention of the Director General of the DSS to call his Command in Kano to order,” Doguwa said, insisting that the DSS must desist from “intimidating, harassing and framing our members.”
The party leader also accused the Kano director of the DSS of being in cahoots with the state government, saying the director ought to have retired last year but was kept through interference of the state government to serve its interest.
When contacted, the spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, told Daily Trust that its personnel only retrieved dangerous weapons like guns, swords, daggers, jackknives, among others from some politicians.
Afunanya, who sent some pictures of dangerous weapons including clubs, cutlasses and guns said to have been recovered from the property in a chat with one of Daily Trust correspondents via WhatsApp, asked, “Are these campaign materials?”
He said, “The property was searched with a warrant. This is not a true account of what happened. The DSS in Kano didn’t intimidate any political party in that state.
“The Service is neutral and has offered all the parties equal opportunities to carry out their activities. It however, carried out a legal security operation and valid search on a suspected property and recovered dangerous weapons including a gun, swords, daggers, jackknives, among others. The Service is committed to a violent free environment before and after the elections.”
Commissioner of information, Muhammad Garba, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report for the state government’s reaction to the allegation of its connivance with the secret police to rig the election.
