THE ERROR OF A SENIOR ADVOCATE OF NIGERIA (SAN) ALLEGING SSS TO BE OVERSTEPPING ITS BOUNDARIES (OPINION)

I felt really constrained to write this piece after reading a report of an article written by J.S Okutepa (SAN) in which the senior lawyer alleged that the State Security Service (SSS) is overstepping its boundaries and usurping Police and anti-corruption powers. The constraints was borne out of the legal weight of the personality involved. However, a tinge of common sense compelled me to make this submission on the issue thrown up by the 'learned' legal giant.

THE MANY FALLACIES AROUND ALLEGED RUMBLES IN THE DSS (OPINION)

I read with chagrin a social media write-up captioned "RUMBLES IN DSS: CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM IN NIGERIA'S SECRET SERVICE (DSS) AMIDST RETENTION OF MR YUSUF BICHI AS DIRECTOR GENERAL". The composition repletes with debased arguments exemplifying the very nature of our society in which many believe that to get to the top, you have to deploy all manner of character assassination to bring down the perceived stumbling block to your ambition.

Bichi Must Be Wary Of Enemies Within

I was not surprised when I came across a write-up by the Human Rights Writers' Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in which the body described as 'unacceptable' the sacking of all the Service Chiefs and sparing the Director-General State Services (DGSS), Yusuf Bichi, CFR by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. It didn't take me a split second to figure out that HURIWA's action was not carried out in isolation. There is a saying in the South West where I come from that, the drummers for the dancing water lilies we see on the surface of the water are actually beneath the water. Bichi should have expected this and more are certain to come. In the build-up to any general elections in Nigeria, especially when the incumbent President has served his two terms, hopes are usually high among high ranking officers in the military, the Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other para- military agencies with the possibility (usually a norm) of ascending to the highest rung of the ladder in the leadership structure. Such hopes were expected to be super high as we inched towards the last Presidential election, putting in mind the hues and cries from the general public about the perceived inefficiency of the country's security architecture, with many calling for leadership change in the military.