DSS invades school, arrests officials in PVC-related incident

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday invaded Olaoluwa Muslim Grammar School, Ado-Ekiti, and arrested some officials.The operatives were said to have acted on a tip-off that some ministry officials were collecting Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from the teachers.

Principal of the school, Sunmonu Olaoye, disclosed that the operatives, who were masked, stormed the school in a Gestapo style and whisked away some teachers.He said the arrested officials had since been clamped into detention.Olaoye told newsmen that he was not in the office when the incident happened, but was within the school premises monitoring the ongoing third term examinations in the school.

A source disclosed that his secretary and office assistant were arrested in the process.The principal said the DSS agents came in Hilux vehicles and harassed the people in a war-like mission.This is just as teachers in the state have vowed to vote for the candidate of their choice in the July 14 governorship poll, despite the intimidation and harassment from some quarters.

He said some staffers were in his office making photocopies of documents, including their PVCs, when the DSS invaded the school.According to him: “I allowed them to make use of the school’s facilities, because I don’t want anything to disrupt the ongoing examinations.

“The DSS swooped on the teachers, seized their documents including their PVCs, and took away two members of staff. They also locked up my office and denied us access to examination materials for our students.”

Olaolu declared that the over 123 teachers in the state must be given freedom to elect a candidate of their choice.He expressed concern that making photocopies of documents including PVCs had become an offence.He added that the DSS agents called him on his phone and threatened to treat him like a common criminal, if he fails to report at their office within one hour.

Olaoye urged the DSS to release those arrested, including their voters’ cards, noting that they didn’t commit any offence to warrant their detention.“We are in a democracy and people reserve the right to vote for the candidate of their choice. Harassing or intimidating people is not a democratic practice,” he added.

In a related development, a teacher at Aaye Oja Grammar School in Moba local council had allegedly been summoned by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) for allegedly failing to submit her PVC.