The Department of State Services (DSS) has accused some unnamed politicians of sponsoring smear campaigns against its Director-General, Yusuf Bichi and key officials of the service.
The secret police said the smear campaign was due to the service’s uncompromising stance on some critical governance and policy issues.
The DSS expressed this concern barely 24 hours after the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) announced that it has summoned an emergency meeting in Abuja to deliberate and reach a decision on the continued stay of the DSS DG in office in view of his recent activities, which they said allegedly undermined President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of free and fair general elections.
The opposition leaders, in a statement by its Steering Committee Secretary, High Chief Peter Ameh, also expressed worry over alleged repeated involvement of the DSS DG in activities, which they said threatened the very hope for credible elections.
DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, in a statement on Tuesday, said those behind the plot have engaged Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations to not only sustain but stage further rallies, road shows and press conferences and use the occasions to discredit Bichi.
Afunanya said: “Also, sections of the media have been briefed to implement the strategy through sponsored articles, commentaries and features to malign the DG, his family and select officials of the Service.
“The Service is monitoring developments and will allow the plotters to either exhaust themselves or rescind the plan of action. Otherwise, no amount of intimidation, harassment and blackmail will deter it from discharging its duties.
“However, it would not idly watch a group of dissatisfied gang to undermine the Service and its highly dedicated Leadership and Management.
“The DSS, therefore, wishes to inform the public to be wary of these tendencies and ignore the antics of dark forces out to impugn the character of the DG.
“It restates its unalloyed support to the President on his resolve to continue to confront head-on, threats to national security as well as create the enabling environment necessary for the 2023 general elections to hold.”
