The Department of State Services (DSS) has described as petty, the report in some sections of the media that a former Governor of Zamfara state, Senator Abdulaziz Yari was invited for not picking President Bola Tinubu’s call.
The agency said SaharaReporters, Peoples Gazette and Jackson Ude have variously and wrongly fed the public with misleading narratives and accusations against the Service.
It said, for instance, SaharaReporters wrote that the Service stormed the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and carted away certain files from them; while Jackson Ude falsely claimed that there is a rumble in the DSS due to nepotism and further accused the Service of snooping on Judges on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
It added that on its part, Peoples Gazette reported that Yari was arrested for alleged refusal to pick the President’s phone call.
However, Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya in a statement issued Sunday noted that the Service ordinarily would not have responded to these inaccuracies but for the fickle minded and vulnerable persons as well as the unsuspecting public that may take the lies for facts.
He said: “To set the records straight, the DSS did not execute operations of any kind at the ICPC and CCB or remove files from their offices.
“Instructively, the two agencies have, on their own, refuted the news in widely circulated press statements. It is petty, if not laughable, to report that Yari was invited for refusing to pick the President’s call. This is the height of junk journalism. Yari knows why he was invited.
“In fact, the Service denies all the allegations as they lack any factual basis or credibility. They are only figments of the creators’ imaginations.This is more so that the publishers in question have been noted in and outside the country for their notoriety for peddling fake news, sensational and gutter journalism.
“Without a modicum of proper and civilised behaviour, they indulge in character assassinations and sundry blackmail as business”
The secret police stressed that it was not in doubt that the reports under reference are hatchet jobs designed to smear or impeach the integrity of the Service and its leadership.
The agency stressed that while it is aware of the sponsors of these campaigns of calumny, it will simply allow them to exhaust themselves knowing too well that they would someday be brought to justice.
It said: “It is clear that the writers and their sponsors are oblivious of the accolades the Service has continued to receive from the majority of stakeholders for excellent performance and its professional demeanour in handling many critical issues of national importance.
“Rather, they have chosen to use their platforms to subvert the Agency and undermine its capabilities.”
While restating its respect for the rule of law, independence and autonomy of other agencies including the Judiciary and Legislature, the agency said it will not shirk its responsibilities or allow some detractors to prevent it from undertaking its statutory duties or carrying out lawful orders by constituted authorities.
“If Yari or anyone else is to be invited or taken into custody, the Service will not hesitate to do so as far as that is procedurally done within the confines of the law,” it said.
The agency, therefore, urged the public to disregard the misleading stories which are aimed at causing disaffection in the country and disparaging the Service’ leadership.