President Buhari Must Disband, Reconstitute DSS Nigeria

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.
Your Excellency,
I am writing this open letter as a concerned citizen, and as the head of CUPS. It is our aim to espouse for unity, peace, and security of all Nigerians, irrespective of political, tribal, religious, and gender orientations. We are the fastest-growing human rights organisation in Nigeria. We have membership both at home and from the diaspora communities around the world.
After sixteen darkest years in Nigeria’s history during which Nigerians witnessed the worst manifestations of corruption, tyranny, impunity, poverty, deprivation, insecurity, genocide, and occupation, a historic change has come about. For the first time, we Nigerians put aside our political, religious, tribal, and other selfish considerations to mobilise ourselves in millions, and voted you into office as our last hope.
Your Excellency, the expectations of the Nigerian masses on you are monumental.
Besides the calamitous level of grandeur theft, poverty, and insecurity that was deliberately inflicted on Nigerians, one of the worst things to have happened to Nigeria during the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ)-led administration was the criminal politicisation of the military, security, and law enforcement agencies based on religious and tribal lines.
Aside from destroying the once-glorious organisation, the politicisation of the military has lead to the destruction of infrastructure, lives and property through Boko Haram insurgency – the type Nigeria has never seen in its 100-year history. It was the politicisation of the military that led to allocation of whopping 25% of Nigeria’s budget to defence; yet, there was no tangible return on the investment. The military generals were busy plundering significant amount of money allocated to defence, at the same time criminally abdicating from their duties of providing adequate funding for military equipment, training for rank and file of personnel, and paying salaries and allowances on time. Worse still, it could have been the same military generals that connived to provide financial, military, and logistics support to the Boko Haram insurgents. If this had not been the case, how does one explain the incapacity of supposedly the mightiest military in Africa to defeat a ragtag bunch of marauding barbarians?
Upon your assumption in office, most Nigerians expected to see the immediate dismissal of all the military service chiefs. This includes the DG of DSS and the so-called national security adviser. Furthermore, Nigerians expected military officers from the ranks of colonels to generals to be thoroughly investigated for treachery, grandeur theft, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Those found guilty should have been accorded proper legal protection, but also swiftly tried, dismissed, and punished according to the provisions of the law. While your administration has already taken steps to deal with the military, albeit in a slow pace to the chagrin of most Nigerians. Nigerians trust your judgment in this matter as a former military general. Nigerians and foreigners alike laud your bold decision to move the Command and Control Centre of the fight against Boko Haram to Maiduguri.
Your Excellency, the politicisation of the DSS by the GEJ administration has been deadly equally on the security of Nigeria and Nigerians. Unless you take firm decisive actions to restore confidence, discipline and sense of purpose, Nigerians risk losing the significant gains we achieved by electing you as president.
As things stand today, the DSS is operating as a fully-funded and armed private mafia organisation whose loyalty and sympathy squarely lies with the defunct GEJ administration, and not with Your Excellency. It is fair to say that we the Nigerian masses expect you to treat your personal safety and security as that of all the 180 million Nigerians put together. This is because you are our last hope for salvation.
Following your successful inauguration, you issued a directive to the army, airforce, navy, and the DSS to furnish the presidency with the list of personnel who will constitute the presidential security detail. This was to grant the presidency enough time to screen the officers before they arrive at the Villa. All the service chiefs immediately complied, except Mr Ita Ekpeyong. Instead of complying with the presidential directive, the DG posted 253 of his selected henchmen to the presidency on Wednesday 10/06/2015 without your approval. The reason for his non-compliance is best known to him.
Your Excellency, we contend that if the DG is not prepared to take instructions from the commander-in-chief, then he is definitely not fit for purpose. Similarly, one Widi Liman, who worked as one of the 3 PAs to the DG, has been strategically positioned as the administration officer at the presidency. This is a wholly unacceptable arrangement, as the risk factor is great.
Your Excellency, this is not the first time that this DG has shown disdain for professional works ethics and standards in order to further his ambition of supporting GEJ’s dangerous political agenda for Nigeria. In August 2012, while acting with impunity, the same DG masterminded the unethical and shameful redeployment of 50 DSS officers of northern origin out of the presidency. Ten officers from the south-west and seven from the south-east were also redeployed. They were immediately replaced by carefully-selected DSS officers from Niger Delta.
As though filling up the DSS with his henchmen and women is not bad enough, the current DG operates the DSS like a terror organisation much worse than Boko Haram. Nigerians know where they stand with Boko Haram. Everybody knows that they are a blood-sucking Satanic organisation hired as mercenaries to cause death and destruction in northern Nigeria. People either take evasive actions to save their lives or confront them with full force where feasible. Unfortunately, such is not the case with the DSS. People mistake them for a genuine government security agency whose job among others is to provide counter-insurgency intelligence and protect lives and property. Instead of providing intelligence the DSS under GEJ undermined democracy by rigging elections. They provided material and logistics support to Boko Haram, and destroyed human life and property through targeted killings.
Your Excellency, outlined below are some but not all of the treasonous offences committed by state directors and other senior officers of the DSS under GEJ administration.
Marilyn Ogar: In September 2014, the Australian peace negotiator, Reverend Canon Dr Stephen Davis, who was appointed by the GEJ administration, made a startling allegation that the former chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Onyabor Azubuike Ihejirika, and the former governor of Borno state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, were complicit in the Boko Haram insurgency. Considering the severity of the allegation, and the level of destruction, a swift and thorough investigation is what would have ensued if the DSS were an internal security agency worth its ounce of salt. Without conducting any investigation whatsoever, and without any regard for due process of law, within 24 hours of that allegation being made public, Marilyn Ogar went on national television to lambast Dr Stephen Davis for “blackmailing” two “innocent” gentlemen. She went further to exonerate Lieutenant Gen Ihejirika and Senator Sheriff of any wrongdoing.
Towards the end of 2014, with total impunity, Marilyn Ogar made several libelous statements on national television which are completely unbecoming of her position as the spokesperson of Nigeria’s internal security agency. On one occasion, without substantiating her allegation, she alleged that the APC was a terrorist organisation. On another occasion, she alleged that the APC had offered her “substantial” bribe but she declined to collect it. The same Ms Ogar is linked to several multi-million corruption scandals that she has failed to refute. Even the ‪#‎BringbackOurGirls‬ campaign organisation was not safe from Marilyn Ogar’s treachery.
Abdulganiyu O. Daudu: The assistant director for internal security (ADIS), heu, in flagrant violation of his position as a national security officer, organised the production of a video campaign jingle designed to damage the good image of His Excellency just before the presidential election. This jingle was aired several weeks on many television networks supported by the GEJ administration.
Without a legal warrant and any warning, on Saturday 22/11/2014, a team of armed mobile police and DSS officers invaded the APC secretariat on Acme Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Computers and communication equipment worth millions were destroyed. 28 staff working at the APC IT data centre were unlawfully arrested. This illegal operation was also masterminded by Daudu, according to the leaked DSS document sent to CUPS.