The State Security Service (SSS) on
Thursday uncovered “arms and ammunition and “stockpiles of United States
dollars” from the Akwa Ibom State Government House in Uyo, the state
capital, during a surprise raid, top security sources have told PREMIUM
TIMES.
The operation was jointly carried out by
operatives from the SSS headquarters in Abuja and a detachment from the
Akwa Ibom State Command of the Service.
The secret police was said to have
stormed the Hilltop Mansion based on security reports that suggested
arms and ammunition were stored in a room there.
After ransacking the entire residence of
the governor, which is yet to be occupied by the serving Governor, Udom
Emmanuel, the operatives moved to guest houses and the presidential
lodge, said to be currently in use by ex-Governor Godswill Akpabio.
It was, however, in one of the guest
houses within the expansive complex, the source said, that the stockpile
of arms and ammunition were found locked up in a large room.
Apart from the arms stockpile, the
source also said the operatives uncovered a guest room filled with
United States dollar notes.
“It is true that our operatives carried out an operation in Akwa Ibom State Government House in Uyo yesterday,” the source said.
“During the operation which lasted for
over an hour, our operatives found stockpile of arms and ammunition
locked up in one of the guest houses within the Government House
complex.
“We also found a room which has stacks
of United States dollars, but since we had no order to take away. Our
operatives left the room untouched.”
One of our sources said the operatives
initially wanted to evacuate the dollar notes but received instructions
from their superiors in Abuja to let the notes be.
However, a staff of the Government
House, who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, told PREMIUM
TIMES that in the course of the operation, a lot of government property
were damaged by the SSS operatives.
He claimed the operatives did not
ransack the official residence of the governor but confirmed they broke
into all the guest houses within the Government House complex.
The source also confirmed that Governor Emmanuel was yet to move into his official residence.
PREMIUM TIMES is unable to independently verify the claims by the SSS insiders.
The agency could not be immediately
reached to officially comment on the operation. The agency does not have
a known spokesperson that could be reached for comments.
And its Director General, Lawal Daura, did not answer or return multiple calls to his telephone.
However, apparently jolted by the
development, the raid has attracted harsh reactions from the leadership
of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
An official of the SSS said PDP’s loud reaction “is to divert attention and downplay the findings of the Service”.
The Acting Chairman of the party, Uche
Secondus, while hosting Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, in his
office Friday, raised the alarm and described the invasion as a civilian
coup d’état.
Mr. Secondus said the action is part of
the strategy of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and the Muhammadu
Buhari-led government to forcefully take some states won by the
opposition PDP.
”Let me alert this nation that there
was a civilian coup d’état in Akwa Ibom State where the State Security
Service, headed by Lawal Daura, invaded the Government House in Akwa
Ibom, ransacked the entire Government House, looking for the governor
(Udom Emmanuel), to kidnap,” Mr. Secondus said.
“We want to alert this nation that this
is part of the strategy of APC and its Federal Government to forcefully
take Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Abia and Taraba States by force because they are
not satisfied with the control of the Federal Government.
“They still want to take over by force
all the states controlled by PDP. “This nation belongs to all, to both
PDP and APC, a situation where, consistently, the SSS has assaulted
states controlled by PDP, the international community should be aware of
what is going on. Is this democracy? Is this how PDP ruled in 16 years?
“We want to advise and point out to the
President that we will not tolerate this anti-democratic arrangement by
APC and SSS because it will be a reincarnation of Rafindadi days when he
was in charge of SSS.
“This is exactly the format. Daura is a
reincarnation of Rafindadi and Nigerians are not ready for what happened
30 years ago. This is a clear warning that they should desist from
taking laws into their hands.”
On his part, the Ekiti State Governor,
Ayo Fayose, called for the immediate sack of the Director General of the
SSS, Lawal Daura, who he blamed for the invasion.
Mr. Fayose said armed men from the
Special Squad of the SSS invaded the Presidential Wing of the Government
House, Uyo, in a commando style, ransacked it, intimidated and harassed
the occupants, claiming that they were searching for bomb and
documents.
While wondering when Akwa Ibom State
Government House turned into a bomb-making factory, Mr. Fayose said he
was shocked that men of the SSS were overzealously looking for bomb in
Akwa Ibom instead of the Boko Haram-ravaged North East Nigeria.
“From the barbaric act of the SSS
yesterday and other actions of Security Service under Alhaji Lawal Daura
in the last few weeks, one can conclude that Daura is taking Nigeria
back to the 1984 era of General Mohammadu Buhari and this is
unfortunate.
“No doubt, the Director General (DG)
SSS, Lawal Daura is acting out a sinister script of taking over Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) controlled States in the South-South and South
East by whatever means,” Mr. Fayose said.
“To say the least, the invasion of the
Akwa Ibom State Government House on Thursday ordered by Daura, is a rape
of democracy and invitation to chaos and anarchy. It is authoritarian,
dictatorial and I condemn it strongly,”
“It is unfortunate that this is
happening under President Buhari’s watch, and painful that Alhaji Lawal
Daura is drawing Nigeria back to the Military era.”
Mr. Fayose recalled the arrest of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; Resident Electoral
Commissioner, REC, in Akwa Ibom, Austin Okojie, by men of the SSS in
July, as a continued case of undemocratic tendencies by the security
agency under its new leadership.
“I wonder why “the SSS under Alhaji
Lawal Daura that has turned Akwa Ibom State and other states into
centres of its draconian operations has not deemed it necessary to
invite for questioning, the Yobe State INEC REC, Mr. Abu Zarma, in whose
bank account N15 million alleged to be a bribe was found.”
He said the recent action by the SSS and
the earlier arrest of the state REC were part of a sinister plot by the
APC, to circumvent the will of the people of the South-South and
South-East states controlled by the PDP.
Saying the plot would fail ultimately,
Mr. Fayose argued that if a Government House occupied by a governor, who
enjoys the same immunity like the President, as provided in the 1999
Constitution, could be invaded by a special squad of the SSS, it meant
the SSS DG was moving the country towards dictatorship.
He said having witnessed the era of
dictatorship and barbarism where Nigerians were treated with contempt,
the governor said under the present democracy the people would never
accommodate the 1984 era of draconian rule.
Mr. Fayose urged Mr. Buhari to call the
DG SSS to order, pointing out that he should be made to know that his
extremely controversial activities since he assumed office were of
growing concern to Nigerians.
“His actions as the DG SSS are
regrettable, unfortunate, condemnable and unacceptable because he has
come to symbolise dictatorship, which democracy abhors,” Mr. Fayose
continued.
“Alhaji Lawal Daura should know that he
is holding the office of DG SSS that he presently occupies in trust for
all Nigerians and such office is not one that can be turned into
instrument of political witch-hunt.
“If Alhaji Daura continues with his use
of the SSS to harass, intimidate and assault the constitution of
Nigeria, President Buhari may have to show to Nigerians that he is not a
party to the use of the security agency to witch-hunt his political
opponents by sacking the DG SSS,” the governor said.
