The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the Department of State Service (DSS) for raiding its data centre in Lagos, describing the reasons given by the Service as implausible.
Operatives of the DSS and soldiers attached to the security unit code-named Operation MESA on Saturday stormed the APC data centre in Lagos and arrested 25 data agents and three security guards.
The DSS had said it raided the Centre, following a petition of ‘unwholesome activities’. It said it found out that the centre was being used to clone Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC).
The APC therefore challenged the DSS to produce copies of the cloned cards and show Nigerians the copies of the cards it claimed that APC was cloning in its Data Office in Lagos.
Lamenting the action of the DSS, APC Publicity Secretary in Lagos, Joe Igbokwe, said that the present leadership of the DSS has “turned what should be a viable state security outfit to an attack dog willing and ever ready to do the dirty biddings of the PDP.”
To further prove that the Data Centre was not for any cloning activities, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed APC conducted journalists round the office.
“The spokesperson for the DSS said the organisation had put the building housing the data centre under surveillance, and that it only acted after it was convinced that ‘unwholesome activities’ were taking place. What hogwash! If indeed they put the place under surveillance, would they not have been able to establish that it is an APC data centre? Even if they were not sure, what prevents them from obtaining a court order permitting them to enter and search the building instead of carrying out a Gestapo-like operation? Are security agencies above the law?” Mohammed queried.
