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Tag: DSS

  • DSS confirms arrest of Ansaru leader Barnawi

    DSS confirms arrest of Ansaru leader Barnawi

    •Names Al-Barnawi as co-founder, top commander of Boko Haram
    •Accuses IPOB of abducting, killing of Fulanis in Abia

    The Department of State Security (DSS) yesterday confirmed its arrest of Mohammed Usman who is also known as Khalid Al-Barnawi, described as a founding member of the Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid Da’wah Wa’l-Jihad (Boko Haram) and later the Amir of the break-away faction, Jama’at Ansarul Muslimim Fi Biladi Sudan (JAMBS).

    He is also said to be the mastermind of the August 26, 2011 bombing of the United Nations building, Abuja.

    The DSS called his arrest in Lokoja penultimate Friday “a major milestone against terrorism.”

    Besides, the agency said it had uncovered “the heinous role played by members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), in the abduction/kidnap of five Hausa-Fulani men in Isuikwuato LGA Abia State.”

    It said four of the five abducted persons were subsequently murdered and buried in shallow graves in Umuanyi forest in the state.

    The DSS in an online statement by its spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, said Al-Barnawi used to move around  under various aliases such as  Kafuri, Naziru,  Alhaji Yahaya, Mallam Dauda and Alhaji Tanimu.

    It said further of him: “Khalid Al-Barnawi is a trained terrorist commander, who has been coordinating terrorist activities in Nigeria, while talent-spotting and recruiting vulnerable young and able Nigerians for terrorist training by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in North African States and the Middle-East.

    “Subject was involved in many terrorist attacks in states of the federation, including Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Sokoto and FCT-Abuja; this resulted in the killing and maiming of innocent citizens of this country.

    “Al-Barnawi is also responsible for the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, on 26th August, 2011; the kidnapping of two European civil engineers in Kebbi State in May, 2011, and their subsequent murder in Sokoto State; the kidnap of a German engineer, Edgar RAUPACH in January, 2012, the kidnap and murder of seven expatriate staff of Setraco Construction Company at Jama’are, in Bauchi State in February, 2013, the attack of Nigerian troops at Okene in Kogi State, while on transit to Abuja for an official assignment.

    “He would soon be charged to Court to face his charges after investigation is completed. This arrest is a major milestone in the counter-terrorism fight of this Service; this arrest has strengthened the Service’s resolve that no matter how long and far perpetrators of crime and their sponsors may run, this Service in collaboration with other sister security agencies, will bring them to justice.”

    The DSS named the Hausa/Fulani men allegedly murdered by IPOB members as Mohammed Gainako, Ibrahim Mohammed, Idris Yakubu and Isa Mohammed Rago.

    It said: “The abducted men were later discovered at the Umuanyi forest, Abia State, where they were suspected to have been killed by their abductors and buried in shallow graves, amidst fifty (50) other shallow graves of unidentified persons.

    “Arrest and investigation conducted so far, revealed that elements within the IPOB, carried out this dastardly action. It is pertinent therefore to alert the general public that IPOB, is gradually showing its true divisive colour and objectives, while steadily embarking on gruesome actions in a bid to ignite ethnic terrorism and mistrust amongst non-indigenes in the South-East region and other parts of the country. Following this act, tension is currently rife among communal stakeholders in the State with possibilities of spill over to other parts of country.

    “Against the foregoing, the Service will not hesitate to act decisively within its statutory mandate to ensure that the sponsors and perpetrators of this action are apprehended and prosecuted for their crime.

    “Accordingly, law-abiding citizens are enjoined to go about their civil duties and businesses freely, as efforts are being intensified by security agencies to maintain law and order in the State and across the Federation.”

    IPOB is in the vanguard of the renewed agitation for the emergence of Biafra.

    Its leader, Nnamdi Kanu is currently facing trial in Abuja for treason.

     

  • NNPC, COAS, DSS get petition on murdered security guard

    NNPC, COAS, DSS get petition on murdered security guard

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Chief of Army Staff and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) and  have been petitioned over the killing of a security guard,  in Ogun State on Wednesday.

    A pipeline surveillance outfit, King Young Lion Security, in the petition signed by its Media Director, Mr. Abdul-Kabir Akinpelu, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Friday, accused some men in military uniform of being responsible for the death of the security guard, Mr. Adura Omoboye

    According to the petition, Omoboye who was a part of the surveillance team assigned to keep watch over the petroleum pipeline at Idi-Mangoro Tent, Sagamu, was gruesomely murdered at about 9 am on that day.

    Calling on the relevant agencies to ensure that the culprits are brought to book to forestall a reoccurrence, Akinpelu described  the killing of the deceased  as unfortunate and uncalled for.

    He said: “The men who were dressed in military uniform and came in a Mitsubishi L300 pick up truck with registration number NA 003 ostensibly came to steal fuel from the pipeline as they bore several empty jerry-cans in their vehicle.”

    He stated further that the  efforts made by the surveillance team to intercept the vandals led to the engagement of the team and this resulted in the death of Omoboye.

    Akinpelu said while all the uniformed men escaped in the confrontation, the team was able to recover items like the Mitsubishi L300 pick up van, three jungle hats, a magazine and a mobile telephone.

    He said: “At this juncture, we call upon the army authority, the directorate of state security service, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as well as all other relevant government agencies to probe this matter to forestall the likelihood of a reoccurrence, since the vandalization of this vital facility has clearly become second nature to some unpatriotic men of the armed and paramilitary forces.”

  • Ekiti Assembly to DSS: we won’t honour your invitation again

    Ekiti Assembly to DSS: we won’t honour your invitation again

    Members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have vowed not to honour any invitation from the Department of State Services (DSS), following the plight of their colleague, Afolabi Akanni, who spent 18 days in custody.

    There was drama at the Assembly complex yesterday when the three lawmakers allegedly abducted by the DSS appeared from “hiding”.

    Musa Arogundade (Ado 1), Sina Animasaun (Ekiti West 2) and Badejo Anifowose (Moba 2) appeared at a briefing addressed by Speaker Kola Oluwawole and Information Committee Chairman Gboyega Aribisogan.

    Oluwawole confirmed that they went underground to evade arrest by DSS, contrary to reports that they were “abducted” by the security agency.

    He said: “The three members and some governor’s aides went into hiding when it became obvious that the DSS was desperately after them.”

    Oluwawole added that the lawmakers had resolved to shun any invitation from DSS henceforth, alleging that the security agency still plans to arrest and detain more of them over what he called “spurious allegations”.

    The Speaker  said: “We are lawmakers and not law breakers. If the DSS has started on a good note, we would have cooperated.

    “We have collectively resolved that based on that suspicion, we may not be able to honour any invitation by DSS because of our safety.”

    Aribisogan condemned the alleged crackdown by DSS, saying the  agency’s action did not portray Nigeria as a democratic country.

  • DSS, EFCC: Age of Intolerance creeps upon Nigeria

    DSS, EFCC: Age of Intolerance creeps upon Nigeria

    A day after he was ordered to be released or produced in court, the Department of State Service (DSS) finally presented to the public the distressed and presumably ill Ekiti lawmaker, Afolabi Akanni. He had been arrested on March 4 and taken to Abuja to answer questions on allegations the secret service says pertain to national security. To compound the situation and not be seen as disobeying court orders, the DSS has cleverly evaded service of court warrant to produce the House of Assembly member. The presentation of Hon. Akanni to the public last Thursday was forced only when protests were beginning to gather steam in Ekiti on the rumour that the lawmaker was dead in custody.

    Similarly, despite court orders, both the Nigerian Army and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had by last Thursday yet to release Col. Nicholas Ashinze, a former aide to former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.). The EFCC claimed he was no longer in their custody, while the army only gave indications that he would soon be released. Obviously, as Justice Yusuf Haliru of an Abuja High Court said last week, many state agencies, taking cue from the presidency, were beginning to act above the state and the law.

    Gradually, Nigeria is being Turkenized, a condition in which the form of democracy prevails but the substance is either inexistent or insignificant. In Turkey, citing threats to the republic, the government intimidates the courts, abridges civil liberties, and muzzles the press. Yet, elections take place amidst colour and flourish, with the outcomes taken as a plebiscite on the government’s draconian and antidemocratic measures. In December, President Muhammadu Buhari had suggested during a media chat that both Col. Dasuki (retd.) and Biafra agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, would not be released from detention either because they might jump bail or because their lawbreaking propensity was egregious. He instantly appeared to foreclose whatever decisions the courts might reach. Indeed, months later, the foreclosed cases have been given teeth.

    It is trite that arbitration between the government and citizens, or any two disputants, takes place in the courts. What is, however, increasingly evident now is that the government and the security agencies may prefer the courts to rubber stamp their wishes rather than arbitrate. To reach this position and inoculate the public against complaints over the government’s oppressive inclination, the government and the security agencies are framing the narrative simplistically in such a manner as to portray the ongoing national struggle for an ethical society as pro- and anti-corruption. Civil liberties, they insist, are a luxury when compared with the evil, chaos and deaths the corrupt and corruption have engendered.

    Neither the EFCC nor the DSS seems conscious of the fact that their modus operandi is beginning to look like a throwback to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Both organisations are apparently conscious of support all the way to the top, and they will defy the courts as much as they can, or as cleverly as they can manage. The DSS, for instance, claimed not to be aware of any court order to release Hon. Akanni, when reports suggested it had evaded service. The EFCC and DSS are conscious of the fact that the imperceptive members of the public are with them all the way. Unobtrusively, therefore, the freedoms Nigerians have taken for granted since 1999 are beginning to be denuded, inch by inch, yard by yard, until they are made to reconcile themselves to living in socially and politically constricted environment.

    Despite individual preferences — whether political or social — and differences in opinion regarding the course of the anti-corruption war, it is time Nigerians woke up to the ongoing gradual attenuation of their liberties. If they are not vigilant enough, they would soon find themselves battling an entrenched system of repression made worse by a unitary government masquerading as a federal government. The Ekiti government may be opprobrious, and some of its officials and state lawmakers may even be insufferable; yet, these are no excuses to endorse the government’s underhand methods. Nigerians may resent Col. Ashinze’s connection with Col. Dasuki (retd.), but it is also not an excuse to turn a blind eye to the systematic winnowing of constitutional provisions that guarantee the dignity of the human person. If the courts order the release of Col. Ashinze and Hon. Akanni, and both the army and the DSS cannot vacate the orders and secure fresh warrants to keep them, they must be told in unmistakable terms that they have become as lawless as those they are trying to prosecute, if not worse.

  • DSS operative killed in fresh shootout between hoodlums, security agents

    DSS operative killed in fresh shootout between hoodlums, security agents

    fresh gun battle erupted last night between security agents and suspected hooligans ahead of today’s crucial National Assembly and state legislative rerun elections in Rivers State.

    A  Department of State Services (DSS) official was feared killed in the confrontation at Egi in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, barely 24 hours after an army major and a soldier were shot dead on the Abonnema-Kalabari waterways by people described as thugs, and a gang of gunmen beheaded a man at Mgbuitanwo in Emohua,Local Government area, hometown of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Rivers East Senatorial rerun.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt- Gen. Tukur Buratai, speaking yesterday in Owerri,Imo State on the killing of the soldiers, vowed that the “activities of pirates, criminals and bandits would be checked.”

    It was gathered that a  team of security operatives was intercepted during a patrol at Egi last night by suspected hoodlums  who allegedly opened fire, provoking a response from the security agents.

    The DSS official was hit in the clash and he died immediately.

    Confirming the incident, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of the 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Capt. Eli Lazarus said: “A joint security team, consisting of the army, police and DSS (Department of State Services), while conducting patrol today (yesterday) at Egi was attacked by unknown gunmen.

    “The criminals engaged the security team for several hours before they were eventually dislodged. Sadly, a security agent lost his life in the unfortunate incident.

    “Reinforcement has been sent to beef up security in the area and normalcy has been restored.”

    The army spokesman also admonished members of the public to remain calm and be law abiding throughout the election period and beyond, and pledged that security agents would continue to work assiduously to ensure security of lives and property.

    Lazarus had on Thursday said soldiers were in pursuit of the brains behind the day’s  killings.

    He said of the shootout: “At 11 am on March 17, 2016, troops on patrol along the waterways in the general area of Abonnema had a fierce encounter with a group of unknown gunmen suspected to be sea pirates.

    “Our men displayed extraordinary gallantry during the encounter.Unfortunately, an officer and a soldier, who sustained various degrees of injury lost their lives.”

    And addressing officers and men of 34 Artillery Brigade headquarters, Obinze, Owerri, yesterday, Gen. Buratai said the military had commenced investigation into the Thursday incident.

    He described the killing of the two soldiers as unfortunate and  said the military had brought the situation in the area under control.

    He said: “The situation in the Niger Delta is being addressed.

    “The activities of pirates, criminals and bandits will be checked; our troops are fully on ground and they have arrested the situation.

    “The unfortunate incident of Thursday in Rivers state is something that we are currently investigating.

    “We will deal with the situation as investigation unfolds in the area.”

    He assured the troops of government’s commitment to improve the condition of facilities in the barracks. Buratai said the welfare of troops and their families would be given priority by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Buratai also inspected facilities at the barracks in Obinze.

  • Police arrest 32 suspects in joint operation with Army, others

    Police arrest 32 suspects in joint operation with Army, others

    The Delta Police Command said it arrested 32 persons in a cordon and search operation with the Army, Navy and DSS in identified ‘hotspots’ in five communities in Uvwie L.G.A.

    The twin cities of Uwvie and Effurun have recently been embroiled in politically motivated violence.

    An Effurun Shoprite facility was attacked by irate youths on Janaury 8 looting and destroying property worth several millions of Naira after following altercation between Baro Henry and two naval ratings outside the shopping mall.

    The Delta State Police Command declared wanted Henry Baro, former Uwvie local government council boss, and a National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) boss, Napoleon Odibu, Effurun Central Motor Park, over the incident.

    A bounty of One Million Naira has been offered to the public for information leading to their arrest.

    Delta Police spokesperson, DSP Tina Kalu in a press release Friday made available to The Nation said the joint operation was to checkmate ‘the rising trend in violent crime in the State’.

    She said the cordon and search operation which invovled the Army, Navy and DSS was carried out on five communities on Uwvie local Government Area including Ubrete, Afieki, Udomulo, Effurun and Udumurie.

    Kalu said ‘a nylon bag containing 1070 INEC voter’s cards’ were recovered in the raid.

    She said ; ‘on 11/3/2016 operatives of Delta Police Command in joint operation with the Army, Navy and DSS carried out a cordon and search operation on identified hot spots at Ubrete, Afieki, Udumulo, Effurun and Udumurie Communities in Uvwie L.G.A. During the operation, two G3 rifles with twenty (20) rounds of 303mm ammunition, one cut to size locally made single barrel gun and a cartridge were recovered while thirty five suspects were arrested.

    Also recovered was a nylon bag containing 1070 INEC voters’ cards’.

    In a related development, the Delta Police Command said it has burst a five man syndicate which specialises in robbing unsuspecting bank costumers after trailing their victims in Asaba metropolis-the Delta State Capital.

    Kalu said the robbers trailed one Daniel Ihezue, residing in New Layout , Okpanam Road  and dispossessed him of the sum of N5,050.00 withdrawn from Zenith Bank ,Asaba.

    She said based on the report operatives of the SARS Asaba  acting on a tip-off arrested Eziokobundu Okolo which led to the arrest of  Damian Chidi Arinze ‘m’ (leader) of Ejighinmadu village, Awka-Etiti, Idemili LGA of Anambra state, Chukwubundu Obeleke ‘m’, Muri Giwa ‘m’, David Ogoro ‘m’.

    She said preliminary inquiries indicate that the syndicate specializes in robbing unsuspecting bank customers of money withdrawn from bank by trailing them

    She said the sum of N4, 510,000.00, part of the robbed money has been recovered from the suspects while the suspects are undergoing investigation.

     

  • DSS, govt bicker over detained Ekiti lawmaker’s fate

    A new twist has been added to the “cat-and-mouse game” between the Ekiti State government and the Department of State Services (DSS) on the fate of a member of the House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni.

    The government yesterday claimed that Akanni had passed on in DSS custody in Abuja but a source in the security agency insisted that the lawmaker is still alive.

    At a briefing addressed by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports Development, Lanre Ogunsuyi, the government claimed that it had information that Akanni had died in detention.

    Other officials who attended the briefing include Speaker Kola Oluwawole; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Owoseni Ajayi and Akanni’s lawyer, Obafemi Adewale.

    Reading from a prepared speech, Ogunsuyi said: “Information reaching us indicates that one of the abducted members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, has died in DSS custody.

    “He has been unlawfully incarcerated in DSS custody since March 4. A court order directing his release since March 11 was ignored by the DDS.

    “Significantly, since his illegal detention, he has been held incommunicado without access to his family, doctors and lawyers.

    “We call on the DSS to immediately clarify the situation as to the status (dead or alive) of Afolabi Akanni (Efon) by producing him for all Nigerians, particularly his family, to see.

    “We urge residents, particularly the people of Efon, to remain calm.”

    But a DSS source insisted that Akanni “is very much alive and kicking” and has  not passed on as being claimed by the government.

    The source said: “What the government has said about the lawmaker is not true; it is far from the truth. Although I am not the spokesperson for the Service but I want to tell you that Akanni is still very much alive and kicking.

    “The government’s allegation is another ploy to blackmail the agency and disrupt our investigation. Very soon, Nigerians will know the truth but the Service cannot be stampeded by politicians’ antics.”

    Another source said: “Their claim that four lawmakers were abducted is not true and is aimed at blackmailing the DSS. The detained Akanni has repeatedly been saying that he was eating fufu in his office when an unarmed DSS officer came to tell him that his attention was needed at their (Ado-Ekiti) office.

    “In fact, the said officer allowed him to finish his meal and he (Akanni) drove himself in his Toyota Camry to the Ekiti DSS Command.

    “The charges against him (Akanni) include seizing 22 trailers on Efon-Itawure-Ijebu Jesa Highway within Efon Constituency with weapons just to block the road during the Fayose impeachment saga.

    “It was this commotion that led to the murder of Modupe Karimu, a.k.a. Eleyele, whose body is at a mortuary in Ilesa, Osun State.

    “He is also being investigated for an assault on Justice John Adeyeye inside the Ekiti State High Court premises, which was also witnessed by so many people and three witnesses have had interface with the lawmaker in the custody of DSS.

    “Akanni is also under investigation for alleged forgery perpetrated during the Ekiti North Federal Constituency 2 House of Representatives PDP primary in which some people have also testified.

    “The second perpetrator of the forgery has sworn an affidavit about the crime and this document has been tendered by another witness.

    “Apart from this, he is also answering questions concerning his educational qualifications.”

  • DSS after me, says Ekiti SSG

    DSS after me, says Ekiti SSG

    The Secretary to the Ekiti State Government (SSG), Dr. Modupe Alade, yesterday raised the alarm that the officials of the Department of State Service (DSS) are after her.

    She spoke to reporters at a briefing in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    The SSG said some Governor Ayodele Fasoye’s aides, including her, have been slated for arrest.

    Alade said she had been receiving calls from some people, who claimed to be working for the DSS and that she should make herself available in the DSS office in Abuja.

    According to her, “the DSS invaded the Ekiti State House of Assembly on March 4 and bundled away four lawmakers.

    “A day or two after that, the Commissioner for Finance, Toyin Ojo, was their guest in Abuja for three days.

    “Shortly after this, a list of some exco members to be arrested was paraded all over the state which of course, I did not take serious and which I considered as a rumour.

    “Surprisingly on Tuesday, I have been receiving some strange phone calls. One of the callers, who identified himself as Paul Okafor, with phone no +447442364448, said I should make myself available in the DSS office, Abuja.

    “Subsequent calls from other anonymous numbers said I should make myself available as there is no hiding place for me. This accounts for my addressing this briefing outside of Ekiti State.”

    She, however, said she would only honour the DSS’ invitation when she is officially invited.

  • DSS dispels death rumour of Ekiti Assembly member

    DSS dispels death rumour of Ekiti Assembly member

    The Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja on Thursday dispelled the rumoured death of Mr Akanni Afolabi, a member of the Ekiti House of Assembly arrested by the service.

    Presenting Afolabi before newsmen, Mr Abdullahi Garba, an official of the DSS, said that the member was duly invited by the service over some breaches bordering on state security.

    He said that the breaches falls under the purview of the services to investigate.

    Garba said that the briefing became necessary in order to debunk the rumour being spread in Ekiti by some mischief makers.

    “You can see that Akanni Afolabi is hale and hearty,” he said.

    “Nigerians and Ekiti people in particular are convinced to see that Afolabi is hale and hearty as being presented to the press today,” he said.

    Garba said investigation was still ongoing on the matter, adding that the service has not received any court order for his release.

    He warned that the service would not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law against any one or persons that may engage in violent actions.

    “The DSS, therefore, warns all those who have planned to make a meat out of this to desist from it and steer clear from trouble,” he said.

    Garba assured all abiding Ekiti residents of adequate security and urged them to go about their normal businesses.

     

  • Court orders substituted service on DSS

    Court orders substituted service on DSS

    A Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has granted an application for a substituted service of a warrant on the Department of State Services (DSS) to produce the detained member of the House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, in court.

    Filing of the application followed alleged difficulties encountered in effecting a physical service of the court papers on the DSS to have him (Akanni) produced in court.

    Akanni (Efon) is being investigated for alleged involvement in multiple crimes by the DSS.

    The court ordered that the order for a substituted service must be published in two national dailies.

    Akanni’s counsel Obafemi Adewale, who filed the application, told the court that the DSS office in Ekiti did not receive the warrant of production when served by the bailiff.

    Adewale said: “The court bailiff told us that the DSS in Ekiti didn’t accept the production warrant brought to them having received instruction from Abuja not to take such.”

    Justice Taiwo said: “Owing to difficulty being encountered in the service of the production warrant on the DSS, the court hereby grant the order of substituted service. The order must be published in two national newspapers.”

    The judge adjourned the matter till March 24 for further hearing.

    The court had last Friday in a motion ex-parte ordered the  release of the lawmaker or in the alternative to produce him in court yesterday and that the DSS must show cause why he should not be released.