From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
As anxiety mounts over the future of the Director General Department of State Services (DGSS), Mallam Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Arewa Youth Federation (AYF), an umbrella body of youth from the 19th northern states of Nigeria, has condemned in strong terms, the purported calls by faceless group demanding his resignation.
NYF, priding itself as the mouthpiece of youths in all the 19 northern states and staunch advocate for good governance, in a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Kabir Muhammad, described those behind the call as paid agents who can do anything for money including selling their birthright.
The group noted that cronies of the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB), Mr Godwin Emefiele and Aminu Yaro Dogara, the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos State and Chairman, Council of Arewa Chiefs in Southern Nigeria in the custody of security service over suspicion of financial crimes were behind the call.
“Let it be abundantly clear that Arewa Civil Society Organisations (ACSOs) don’t exist neither does it have the mandate of the people it pretends to represent. Those behind this faceless organization are nothing but thugs under the payroll of some unpatriotic elements. As the authentic representatives of our people, we distance ourselves from their threats. The DSS boss and his team are doing a nice job and we stand in solidarity with them,” the statement read partly.
While countering the allegations leveled against Bichi and the DSS, the group insisted that as the number one security agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring national security, the DSS has always acted in an ethical and professional manner while conducting its operations, adding that those blackmailing the DSS are agents of corrupt entities bent on jeopardizing Nigeria’s national security.
“As a security agency, the DSS maintain international best practices. Detaining individuals for security reasons is a routine and standard practice everywhere. The DSS has always protected the rights of those in custody and there has never been a case of human right abuses against the DSS.
“There are also protocols before releasing some persons DSS may be required to follow. This does not in anyway amount to disregard to court orders. Those calling for the sack of Bichi are just disgruntled elements seeking to evade justice,” the group defended in the statement.
The AYF equally urged the public to disregard the antics of fake CSOs working for the embattled former CBN Governor, Emefiele who has been sponsoring spurious media campaigns to blackmail security agents and divert their attention from prosecuting him for his excesses while in office.
“The excitement that greeted the arrest of the suspended CBN governor by the ordinary citizens points to the ills he melted on the people that resulted in several deaths using the instrumentality of the office he occupied. It is hilarious that the cronies of Emefiele would launch a smear campaign against the DSS and expect Nigerians to buy in,” the group further noted in the statement.