Tag: Department of State Services

22Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Boko Haram Kingpin Arrested In Ado-Ekiti

A suspected Boko Haram kingpin, Adenoyi Abdulsalam, has been arrested by a joint team of the Department of State Services and the military in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. A statement issued by an operative of the service in Abuja on Wednesday, Mr Tony Opuiyo, said that an Ak-47 rifle was recovered from the suspect who is presently undergoing investigation. Opuiyo added that the suspect was in the final stages of kidnapping some high-level targets in Ekiti to raise funds and terrorise communities in the state. He said that the suspect was arrested by a joint Military and DSS operation team. Opuiyo said that a Boko Haram suspect, Usman Rawa, 29, a.k.a Mr X, was also arrested in Lafia on March 17. He said that Rawa rented an accommodation in Lafia for one Abdullahi Isa, who was know...

Read More

20Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Senate Plots Zero Allocation For EFCC Over Magu

The raging controversy between the Senate and the Presidency is yet to abate over the nomination of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). New Telegraph’s investigations at the weekend revealed that the Senate has vowed never to reconsider Magu for confirmation for the plum job, after he failed to scale through the hurdle in the last two consecutive attempts. A reliable source in the Senate told our correspondent that the apex chamber had resolved to give zero allocation to the anti-graft commission in the 2017 fiscal year, if the Presidency tried to leave Magu indefinitely in acting capacity. The commission’s 2017 budget proposal had been reduced by the Budget Office from N18.8 billion in 2016 to N17 billion, represent...

Read More

17Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Magu Can Serve Indefinitely, Presidential Committee Tells Buhari

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to remove the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , Mr . Ibrahim Magu, whose confirmation was rejected by the Senate on Wednesday. The committee further stated that Magu could continue in acting capacity indefinitely . It was learnt that the committee had resolved to communicate its resolution to the President in writing . The Chairman of the PACAC , Prof . Itse Sagay (SAN ), told The PUNCH that the resolution was unanimous and that members were of the view that removing Magu would negatively affect the war against corruption . He said, “ I had a telephone conference with all members of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption and we unanim...

Read More

16Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Ndume: If Magu Could Be Rejected, Saraki Should Not Be Senate President

Ali Ndume, former senate majority leader, says if the senate could refuse to confirm Ibrahim Magu, as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) based on allegations leveled against him, Bukola Saraki who has a case in court should not be the senate president. Citing a report of the Department of State Services (DSS), the upper legislative chamber rejected the nomination of Magu. The DSS had said Magu was unfit to lead the commission because he had failed an integrity test. But speaking on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, Ndume faulted the action of the senate. “We have all been accused, I have been accused of sponsoring Boko Haram, the senate president is still going to court,” Ndume said. “Same as other members who have case...

Read More

15Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News, Scandals and Rumours

Fayose Reacts To Apostle Suleman And Stephanie Otobo’s Sex Scandal

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Wednesday, described the adultery allegation against Apostle Johnson Suleiman of the Omega Power Ministry by one Miss Stephanie Otobo as “high level conspiracy meant to destroy the integrity of the pastor and silence his critical and principled voice of truth and dissent in a nation fast becoming a one-party state.” In a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti by Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor declared his support for Apostle Suleiman, saying: ” I stand by Apostle Suleiman and other men of God being directly or indirectly persecuted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) cabal.” The governor said; “This was the same way they tried to drag the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian...

Read More

15Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

DSS Report That Got Magu Rejected Pictured

The Senate rejected Magu's nomination following a letter by the Department of State Services (DSS) which upheld an earlier letter that Magu failed the integrity test and was unfit for the office. The DSS letter which was sent to the Senate on Wednesday stressed that Mr Magu would constitute “a liability to the anti-corruption fight of the present administration”. Photos of the letter below;

Read More

15Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Foreign Missions To Monitor Magu’s Screening By Senate

Some foreign missions and donor agencies will monitor today’s screening of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu. Besides, some Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) senators have opted to support Magu’s confirmation as the fourth chairman of the anti-graft agency. The senators reportedly met yesterday. It was also learnt that Senate President Bukola Saraki briefed the leadership of the chamber on the controversial reports of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Magu. But the details of the brief were kept under wraps as at the time of filing this report. The embassies, The Nation learnt, directed some of their desk officers, mostly in the intelligence unit, to monitor the confirmation. Although the notice of the screening was sudden, more than 10 f...

Read More

9Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Osun Declares Curfew As 10 Die In Ife Communal Clash

No fewer than 10 persons were said to have been killed, while 30 others were injured following a clash between some Hausa and Yoruba youths in Ile Ife, Osun State, on Wednesday. Vehicles were burnt and vandalised by the rampaging youths, while some houses and shops were set ablaze in the clash which forced some persons to flee their areas. Our correspondent gathered at the scene that the fight was caused by a Hausa man, who allegedly slapped a Yoruba woman believed to be a wife of a Yoruba driver on Tuesday. It was gathered that the Hausa man had littered the surroundings of the woman’s shop with papers and she complained against it, which resulted in an altercation. The woman’s husband was said to have taken some of his colleagues to the scene of the fight and they reportedly be...

Read More

8Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Lagos Pastor Goes Blind After DSS Torture

Pastor in charge of Gracious and Mercy Prophetic International Church, Egbeda, Lagos State, Pastor Ejimozor Williams, has lost his sight due to a torture he allegedly suffered in the hands of some operatives of the Department of State Services in Lagos(DSS). PUNCH Metro learnt that the 46-year-old pastor’s house in the Ayobo area of the state had been invaded by the security officials after his houseboy, identified simply as Chukwujekwu, defrauded some residents using fake dollars. When the officials failed to arrest the suspect, who had fled, they ransacked Ejimozor’s home and found some of the counterfeit currency. He was reportedly bundled into a DSS operational van, where he was subjected to different forms of torture.When he sought to know the identities of the men, one of th...

Read More

2Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Service Chiefs Brief Osinbajo, Pledge Loyalty To Buhari

The Nigeria military has pledged “total commitment and loyalty” to President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari has been in the United Kingdom on extended medical vacation since January 19. Briefing Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa on Wednesday, Mansur Dan-Ali, minister of defence, who led the service chiefs to the meeting, said the military was totally committed and loyal to the president. He said more progress had been made in the war against insurgency in the north-east. Dan-Ali commended the government for adequately funding the military, which he said has helped it in the conduct of its operations. “Let me start by expressing our appreciation to the current administration for their relentless support and continuous funding of the armed forces in the conduct of...

Read More

2Mar By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

DSS Probes Ex-governor’s ‘link’ With Militia Leader

Former Governor Gabriel Suswam is being probed by the Department of State Services (DSS) for his alleged link with a militia leader, Terwaze Akwazza (a.k.a Gana), The Nation learnt yesterday. Three Benue State local government areas – Logo, Katsina-Ala and Ukum – are said to be in Akwazza’s grip. The secret service is also investigating the ex-governor for allegedly building an armoury in his mansion, which is under construction in Makurdi. Among those building the mansion, which is said to be close to the Ministry of Agriculture in the state capital, are three Israelis. But a source close to Suswam yesterday said he suspected a frame-up by the ex-governor’s rivals. Suswam was trying to meet bail terms as at press time. He has been in detention for five days. According to a...

Read More

15Feb By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

Uncategorized

Presidency, Senate To Clash Over Magu Again

The Presidency and the Senate are set to clash again over the confirmation of acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, Daily Trust has gathered. According to sources, some senators have vowed to reject the confirmation of Magu as substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency after the Presidency re-nominated him for confirmation. Magu’s confirmation was rejected by the Senate in December 2016, after acting as EFCC chairman for over one year. The Senate had rejected Magu’s confirmation citing allegations of corruption against him, contained in a Department of State Services (DSS) report. Some senators, it was gathered, insist that the allegations in the DSS report have not been vacated and the investigation carried out by the Attorney...

Read More

9Feb By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Buhari Sacks Army Bodyguards From Aso Rock

SOLDIERS who have been providing close body protection for President Muhammadu Buhari have been disengaged from the Presidential Villa, Abuja. They have been replaced by personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) just as it was in previous dispensations. It was learnt that the president authorised the redeployment before he left for his medical vacation in the United Kingdom. The deployment of the soldiers to protect the president at the inception of his administration in 2015 generated heated controversy as both his then Chief Security Officer (CSO) and DSS personnel, Abdulraman Mani, and the Aide de Camp (ADC) to the President, Colonel Lawal Abubakar, were involved in public spat. While Mani argued that it was the responsibility of the DSS to provide close body prote...

Read More

3Feb By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Rivers Rerun Violence: Why Wike Is Desperate To Stop Probe – IGP

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has said the suit by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike challenging the probe into the violence the rerun election is intended to cover his tracks. The IGP said the decision by Wike to investigate the violence, for which he is being investigated, was a desperate move to pre-empt outcome of the probe by the Special Investigating Panel (SIP), constituted by the IGP. The police boss spoke through the notice of preliminary objection against the suit filed by Wike at the Federal High Court in Abuja. In the objection filed for him by Femi Falana (SAN), the IGP argued that the Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by Wike had no power to investigate the crimes committed during the rerun election in Rivers and prosecute the culprits. H...

Read More

3Feb By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

DSS Beats Unity School Teachers In Calabar

Mudiaga Affe , Calabar Six teachers at the Federal Government Girls College in Calabar on Thursday alleged that they were beaten in the presence of pupils by operatives of the Department of State Services, Cross River State Command. They alleged that the armed security officials stormed the school premises at about 10am on the invitation of a female DSS official who had come to beat up a teacher for flogging her daughter. One of the teachers , Mr . Owai Owai, said he was flogged in front of his pupils by the DSS woman and her husband. Other teachers , who claimed to have been beaten up when the school later became flooded with DSS officials , identified themselves simply as Ndarake , Inyang , Udoh , Agba , Njor and the college ’ s Chief Security Officer, John Ikpeme. A secur...

Read More

2Feb By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

FRSC Set For Nationwide Enforcement Of Speed Limiting Device

FRSC's spokesman told newsmen in Abuja that commands of the agency had been fully mobilised for the exercise. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it is set to begin full enforcement of the installation of speed limiting device in commercial vehicles nationwide on Wednesday. Spokesman of the corps, Mr Bisi Kazeem, told newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that sector and field commands of the agency had been fully mobilised for the exercise. Kazeem said that the army, police, civil defence, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies were on standby to provide security support. Adding that the “Enforcement of the speed limiting device commences tomorrow (Wednesday) and there is no going back. “In readiness, the field commands have been fully mobilised to commenc...

Read More

31Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Miss Joy Odama: Undergraduate Death Shrouded In Mystery

As at the time of writing this story, the death of one Miss Joy Odama, a mass communication undergraduate in one of the tertiary institution in the country, is still shrouded in mysterious circumstances. Investigation conducted by LEADERSHIP reveals that on December 18th,2016, the deceased in company of her friend, Elizabeth had gone to one Alhaji Usman I. Adamu, who is believed to be a philanthropist, because he assists indigent students, with scholarship to complete their studies. According to the mother of the deceased, Mrs.Philomina Odama, “when it was my daughter’s turn to see Alhaji Adamu, she told him that she had come to seek for an assistance to continue with her education. But the ‘philanthropist’ told her to come along with her mother to the house. My daughter told me this...

Read More

30Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

DSS Plotting To Detain Suleman And Oyedepo In Kuje Prison – Fayose

‎EKITI State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, Ayodele Fayose, has warned the Department of State Services over the planned detention and trial of Apostle Johnson Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide and the General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide International, popularly known as Winners’ Chapel International, Bishop David Oyedepo. ‎ Fayose described the move by the DSS as an indirect invitation to religious crisis in the country. ‎ Governor Fayose alleged: “There is plan to charge Apostle Suleiman and Bishop Oyedepo for incitement and attempt to cause public disorder on Friday, and make sure that they are not granted so to get them remanded in Kuje Prison perpetually.” ‎ He said this plan was to humiliate these men of God a...

Read More

30Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Supporting Buhari Was A Serious Mistake — Fawehinmi

RECENTLY, your criticisms against President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration indicate you are against him. Why? I supported (President Muhammadu) Buhari in the last (presidential) election. I actively campaigned for him and donated my money to his campaign. If I have turned against him, it is since he got into office and based entirely on his government’s policy choices. I have nothing personal against him. At what point exactly did you start losing hope in Buhari and promise of ‘change’? It was sometime midway last year. It just became clear to me that the government sold one thing during the campaign and were doing another thing entirely upon assumption of power. The sheer pointless and needless suffering Nigerians have been put through in the name of discredited idea...

Read More

29Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Apostle Suleman To Appear Before DSS With 30 Lawyers

The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has formally been invited by the Department of State Services to appear at its National Headquarters in Abuja, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt. Our correspondent learnt on Saturday that the cleric was invited for interrogation on Monday (tomorrow) by 10am, based on his recent alleged inciting comments that Christians should defend themselves against attacks by Fulani herdsmen. “Suleman will be appearing before the DSS with about 30 lawyers because we believe that his persecution has become politicised,” a source stated. The invitation is coming four days after Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State foiled attempts by the DSS to arrest Suleman in his Hotel room at Ado-Ekiti. The Christian Association of Ni...

Read More

26Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

I Didn’t Ask Christians To Kill Muslims – Apostle Johnson Suleman

The founder of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has denied instructing Christians during a preaching to go after Muslims. Describing the report as not only senseless but malicious, he said his statements were misconstrued to incite the people. According to him, he only stressed the need for the church to defend itself against invasion by gunmen and not a direct incendiary comment that could make Christians and Muslims to confront one another. This is as Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, cautioned the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to be mindful on how it handles issues bordering on religion in the country so as not to throw the country into religious crisis. The governor had in the early hours of Wednesday foiled an attempt by the ...

Read More

25Jan By Czar Owolabi MarcusNo Comments

News

Finally!!! Senate Agrees To Screen Magu

The Senate tuesday said it would screen the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, in accordance with legislative procedures, but elected to stand by its resolution calling for the sack of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal. The decision of the Senate was made known by its spokesman, Senator Sabi Abdullahi during a press briefing, after President Muhammadu Buhari’s letters requesting for the screening and confirmation of Magu and exonerating Lawal were read out by Senate President Bukola Saraki in the chamber. Having read out both letters from Buhari, the Senate said it would screen Magu. The Senate spokesman, however, regretted that the president’s letter failed to address the allegations raised ag...

Read More