— Jul 12, 2015 4:04 am
The changes at the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s secret police, entered another phase during the week, with new postings and a series of reversals.
DSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, who was until recently, DSS deputy director, public relations, was transferred to Maiduguri, Borno State.
The posting has however been put on hold, following insinuations that it was “punitive.”
Ogar, as spokesperson, was responsible for defending the activities of the agency in the media and she is believed to be paying for some of her pronouncements, notably in the face-off with the Bring Back Our Girls movement and the DSS raids on the Lagos office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year.
She has already lost her promotion, following the nullification of the recent exercise.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently appointed Lawal Musa Daura as the acting DSS director-general, following the resignation of Ita Ekpenyong, who was reportedly asked to go because of the alleged “partisanship” of the agency under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Also, about 45 new state directors who were promoted under Jonathan, have lost their new ranks as their promotions have been reversed. Buhari refused to swear them in last Thursday, an indication that the promotion exercise had been annulled. Daura has also ordered the sack of fresh graduates who were recently employed after an eight-month training.
Daura, it was learnt, has been mandated to probe the tenure of his predecessor. An official from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) has been pencilled down to do the job.
The official, from Katsina state, is expected to be appointed as the new director of finance, taking over from an operative from Plateau State, who was only appointed recently.
“Daura’s mandate is to probe Ekpenyong, but it is not looking bright because some of the allegations being examined are difficult to prove. It has now been established that the raids on the APC office in Lagos were based on a tip-off by an APC member. This has complicated matters,” the source added.
The DSS had raided the office on the allegation that the voters’ biometric cards were being illegally produced there, a move that generated public outrage. The agency did not charge any suspect to court.
Some top DSS operatives, meanwhile, are beginning to question the capacity of the new DG to pilot the affairs of the agency.
The reorganisation exercise is expected to continue as new governments usually fill strategic positions at the agency with loyalists.