The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State, has accused the Department of Security Services (DSS) of intimidating its members and carrying out raids on its campaign offices in the state.
The allegation by the NNPP, came just a few days after the party accused the police leadership in the state of working with the state government to harass and arrest its members.
Few days later, the IGP redeployed the Kano State commissioner of police to Plateau state and posted two new CPS and three Deputy CPs to oversee the state during the election; but the police said the redeployment had nothing to do with the allegation as it also affected other commands.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Umar Haruna Doguwa, the chairman of NNPP in Kano, alleged that the offices of the directors of Support Groups and that of the director of Youth Mobilization were raided by men of the DSS.
“We are horrified to note that the men of the DSS were brazenly bringing weapons from their vehicles and putting them in the offices of our directors. This was done in the presence of our campaign staff, who also recorded the incident on video. We have pictures and video evidence of this flagrant setup.
“We write to draw the attention of the Director General of the DSS to call his Command in Kano to order,” Doguwa said, insisting that the DSS must desist from “intimidating, harassing and framing our members.”
The NNPP leader also accused the Kano director of the DSS of being in cahoots with the state government, saying the director ought to have retired last year but was kept through interference of the state government to serve its interest.
The spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, when contacted said that its personnel only retrieved dangerous weapons like guns, swords, daggers, jackknives, among others from some politicians, Daily Trust reports.
Afunanya said, “The property was searched with a warrant. This is not a true account of what happened. The DSS in Kano didn’t intimidate any political party in that state.
“The Service is neutral and has offered all the parties equal opportunities to carry out their activities. It however, carried out a legal security operation and valid search on a suspected property and recovered dangerous weapons including a gun, swords, daggers, jackknives, among others. The Service is committed to a violent free environment before and after the elections.”
Commissioner of information, Muhammad Garba, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report for the state government’s reaction to the allegation of its connivance with the secret police to rig the election