The Presidential Support Committee (PSC) has chided former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some Nigerians criticising the Department of State Services (DSS) for the re-arrest of the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Mr Omoyele Sowore, saying nobody is above the law.
The group’s reaction followed calls by the PDP presidential candidate for an independent probe of operatives of the DSS who invaded an Abuja Federal High Court on Friday to re-arrest Sowore and Olawale Bakare.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its Director of Communication and Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the PSC urged the critics of Sowore’s re-arrest to allow the security agency do its job “within the ambit of the law instead of coercing it with politically stage-managed criticisms.
“Nobody is above the country’s laws. The opposition should allow the Department of State Services (DSS) its job. The DSS has the right to appeal any judgement up to the Supreme Court and that includes the ruling of the court which granted bail to Sowore. Nobody should play bastardized politics just because he has approved to destroy democracy and its dividens Nigerians Nigerians are enjoying from the fight against corruption and insecurity”, Ibrahim noted.
The PSC maintained that that the Director-general of the DSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, is a law-abiding citizen, and under him, the agency has maintained the highest regard for the laws of the land and would not do anything to undermine law and order.
Ibrahim said, “The PSC has noted with dismay the confrontational manner in which some self-appointed activists are harrassing the Department of State Services in the name of criticism against the re-arrest of the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Mr Omoyele Sowore. It amounts to playing politics with the country’s security system to verbally attack the DSS in a bid to shield Sowore from being re-arrested release.
“The security agency of the government may have briefed the court properly on its intention to appeal the rulling on Sowore’s bail and the steps being taken to ensure his safety and national security is to keep him in custody until the appeal is heard, and that it will do all that is needful once the appeal still goes in favour of Sowore.
“It amounts to gross politicisation of the country’s security for some self-acclaimed critics to attack the DSS. Instead of making certain derogatory remarks, they should allow the law take its cause”.
Ibrahim further maintained that the DSS under the leadership of Yusuf Bichi is not a lawless agency and will never obstruct justice or disobey court orders.
He said, “Before those who specialise in finding faults continue to wag their tongues, they should realise that Yusuf Magaji Bichi is a consummate professional who has been a big asset to the Nigerian intelligence community. What one would have expected from the arm chair critics is to ask if Sowore’s release was within the ambit of the law. Instead, they have once again chosen to play politics.
“We appeal to Nigerians to leave political sentiments out of the security system. It is quite unfair to pick holes in the operations of the DSS because from available records, certain conditions for Sowore’s release have not been met”.
