Text of a press conference addressed by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, Jan. 11th 2015 at the APC Data Centre, Ikeja, Lagos on Jan. 11th 2015

Good afternoon gentlemen!

As you are very much aware by now, the Department of State Services, DSS, on Jan. 7th 2015 released the so-called findings from its investigation following the Gestapo-like raids of our Data Centre here at Number 10, Ajibola Street, Ikeja, on Nov. 22nd 2014.

The summary of the ‘findings’ is that our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), had an ”articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country”.

Our immediate response, which was issued on the same day and which got a big play, was to dismiss the ‘findings’ as hogwash, a great disservice to Nigeria and an embarrassment to all intelligence-gathering organizations around the world. Our stand on the ‘findings’ has not changed.

However, having taken our time to study the ‘findings’, we believe it is necessary for us to respond to the allegations in a more detailed manner that will show that we were even charitable to have described the report as hogwash. That DSS report is bunkum, garbage, and is not worth the paper on which it is written. We will demonstrate that to you shortly

But first, let us address the motive of the DSS for this report and the timing of its release.

We will like to tell all Nigerians that the crap called ‘findings’ is part of the ongoing efforts by the Jonathan Administration to postpone next month’s general elections. Having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians, the Jonathan Administration has gone into a panic mode, while embarking on a plan to postpone the elections.

Apparently, the thinking at the DSS, which is working in cahoots with the PDP, is that its report that the APC plans to hack into the voters’ registration Data Base of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will raise doubts about the integrity of the voter’s register to be used for the forthcoming polls, and subsequently force a postponement of the elections since the existing register cannot be used for the polls.

Unfortunately for DSS and the PDP, this thinking was based on a wrong premise, as we will show shortly, and it has backfired.

Before you say our claim is outlandish, remember that some prominent Nigerians have publicly called for the postponement of the election – which can only benefit the Jonathan Administration and delay its impending Waterloo at the polls. Place the calls side by side with the apparently doctored outcome of the DSS investigations and the timing of the report’s release, and you will understand where they are coming from.

THE ‘FINDINGS’

We make bold to say that those ‘findings’ cannot stand a serious scrutiny by independent investigators.because the DSS worked backwards, from answer to question, in an effort to reach a pre-determined conclusion

HACKING OF INEC’s DATABASE

The allegation that the APC planned to hack into INEC’s voters’ registration Data Base is false. The fact that the DSS made the allegation at all shows that the agency does not understand the concept of hacking, which is pathetic for a primary intelligence agency of its stature.

We are not aware that INEC has made a complaint of anyone or group trying to hack into its system. The DSS ‘findings’ are baseless as INEC’S database is a reflection of the registered members with the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs). Please note that at the time of the DSS’ raids, the PVCs had already been printed. Therefore, of what value would it be to hack into the system and input more names?

Simply put, it is not possible for the APC to hack into the INEC Data Base for the following reasons:

* INEC’s database is not online, how then is it possible for anyone to hack into it?

* To prevent virus intrusion, there is no Internet service at the APC Data Centre that was raided. Therefore it is not possible to hack into INEC’s database.

* The DSS has claimed that hacking tutorials were discovered on an external hard drive. This is a lie! All the USB ports on the pc systems in the office were disabled to prevent virus intrusion. Therefore, the use of external hard drives is not allowed at the APC Data Centre. If this is so, how is it possible for an external hard drive containing these so-called hacking materials to be found on the premises of the APC Data Office?

Please note that the work stations at our various data registration centres in the country are manned by unemployed youths with just basic computer knowledge. The question to ask is: Would the party have employed these people if the intent were to hack into INEC’s Data Base or employed gurus in the IT world?

It is clear that the DSS purchased a hard drive and downloaded the information themselves from the Internet. After all, the DSS, by virtue of its duties, should be the hacking experts, hence hacking tutorials will be part of their staff induction training.

TIMING OF THE DSS RAIDS

As we have said, the overall motive of the raid of our offices and the so-called findings is to give the impression that the INEC voter’s register has been corrupted, hence cannot be used for next month’s elections. Now, a more specific question: Why did the DSS break into the APC Data Centre at the time it did?

It is no coincidence that the DSS raided the APC Data Centre on Nov. 22nd 2014, exactly one week before the start of the PVC distribution exercise on Nov. 28th 2014.

The reason the DSS came to vandalize our Data Centre is because the Service is working hand-in-hand with the PDP. They carried out the raids to know our party’s strength in terms of membership. Please note that after the raids, many of our registered members could not find their names on the list when they went to collect their PVCs. This is not a mere coincidence.

ALLEGED MULTIPLE REGISTRATION OF MEMBERS

After the first visit of the DSS, it was clear to all Nigerians that the Service’s claim that we were cloning PVCs could not be sustained. That explains why they could not display a single cloned PVC

During the second raid carried out by the DSS on the same APC Data Centre, the security personnel carted away bags with unused membership registration forms. These are the forms to which they have fraudulently attached pictures of babies & military personnel in order to implicate the APC.

Or what on earth was the purpose of the DSS carting away blank APC membership registration forms? Why did it take the DSS almost 50 days to reveal this information? If it were true, won’t they have released the information to the general public immediately? Has the DSS hired any renowned IT organization to attest to its ‘findings’? Can you be an accuser and a judge at the same time?

ALLEGED REGISTRATION OF ARMED FORCES/PARAMILITARY PERSONNEL

This is a no-brainer! The question to ask the DSS is: Will any member of the armed forces and paramilitary organizations be so daft as to join a political party using a passport photograph of himself or herself in uniform? The DSS must think Nigerians are fools.

ALLEGED REGISTRATION OF BABIES

To the best of our knowledge, a baby cannot vote? So, why would any organization register a baby as a member? Our application edits date of birth, hence will not allow the registration of under-aged persons. The DSS should tell the world where it got the pictures of babies that it affixed to the blank forms that were carted away from our Data Centre. We did not and could not have registered babies as members. This allegation is nitwitted, to say the least.

ALLEGED CONFESSIONS BY WORKERS ARRESTED FROM THE DATA CENTRE

Please recall that in a statement we issued of Dec. 5th 2014, we accused the DSS of resorting to the use of torture to obtain forced confessions from the workers who were arrested during the first raid on our party’s Data Centre.

In that statement, we called the action of the DSS a contravention of the UN Convention against Torture to which Nigeria is a signatory and a violation of the citizens’ fundamental human rights.

We also said:

– The DSS shackled the hands and legs of those arrested and blindfolded them while they were being taken to Abuja; The arrested persons remained in chains even at the dark detention cell where they were made to sleep on the bare floor for the 10 days they were detained illegally.

– The workers had guns pointed at their heads by DSS personnel who threatened to shoot them

– A pregnant woman among those who were arrested was denied access to her drugs even when she started bleeding due to the torture to which she was subjected by the DSS.

Gentlemen, we now present to you some of those who were arrested and tortured by the DSS, so they can narrate to you their ordeal in the hands of the DSS – A national institution being maintained by taxpayers’ funds but which has now become the enforcement arm of the PDP to be used by the ruling party to terrorize innocent citizens.

The DSS said it had charged these workers to court. This is a lie. We were the ones who charged the DSS to court, and the court ordered the security agency to release the arrested workers. Be that as it may, we are expecting them to join us in court, and let the court decide on the crap they called findings. We are confident that the ‘confessions’ extracted from these people, after they were subjected to incredible acts of torture, cannot even stand in any court of law.

I thank you!

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary

Wow. Revealing.

Explanation noted.

You are all LIARS and the TRUTH is not in any of You!

Source pls.

And liar muhamad expects me to read all those jargons he spewed up there?...

Only time will tell...

in the history of publicity secretaries of political parties in this country, Lai Mohammed is one of the best if not the best of his kind

They dare not attempt to postpone this election.
Who in his right senses can tolerate gej's govt beyond may 29.

good job

Why do the DSS allow themselves to be used By PDP that Show the reason they can't Combat BokoHaram effectively since the DSS rots of GerryMandering with PDP so as to be used for cheap political Gain..

Things Must CHANGE.......!!!

babatundeizbad:
in the history of publicity secretaries of political parties in this country, Lai Mohammed is one of the best if not the best of his kind

He is Seasoned and Good at his Job.

I respect. Him..!!!

All that hogwash by DSS cannot stand a 1 hr examination by d average lawyer,talkless of a forensic examination. Its unfortunate this is d level to which d DSS has sunk.
APC registers kids and uniformed policemen and wud b so stupid to use their true pictures and ages.Does it even make sense to d DSS?
I know in its offices, many DSS personnel wud even feel embarrassed at what ogar was going to display.

A MUST READ »»»

www.nairaland.com/2086272/2015-presidential-elections-dilemma-average

However, having taken our time to study the ‘findings’, we believe it is necessary for us to respond to the allegations in a more detailed manner that will show that we were even charitable to have described the report as hogwash. That DSS report is bunkum, garbage, and is not worth the paper on which it is written.

Classic!!!!

Jonathan cannot even effectively manage a Village.

DSS like other government agencies will be restructured. This is disgraceful.

Let Assume that DSS is working with PDP....Then they should ready for it in February 14. Because Nigeria voice must be heard with their PVC

It is clear why Boko Haram is having a field day across the country with a nonentity and illeducated bunch of officials in the State Security Service.

Nigeria is indeed in a perilous times

How on earth will APC want to hack into INEC database using hacking wannabes? Why would they want to do something of that magnitude without taking strong security measures to cover their tracks? Shame on DSS and everything that they represent. Can they be compared to FBI? Never!

marylin ogar (if I get her name right ) is a
disgraced to the intelligent body she sworn to
represent. did she think we are daft with her
report? how long will it take to find out a body is
hacking into an organisation site 5 weeks?
moreover their initial reason to which they raid
the data centre and the report they presented did
not correlate a question all reasonable mind in
Nigerian should ask her.

Best Reply ever.

Pay me 5 million naira to fvck maryline ogar, and I wont fvck that woman cos she's useless.
the DSS worked backward, from answer to question- Lai Muhammamed(2015).

detailed analysis by d best publicity secretary I av seen from any political party

The only intelligence dss have Is the intelligence of apc membership registration . Moreover. What intelligence do u get if the president is clueless.
Sai buhari

* INEC’s database is not online, how then is it possible for anyone to hack into it?

this is what people should know, you can never hack what is offline. INEC is not stupid to leave it sensitive data base online.
some people that can not even click mouse properly would come and run their mouth.

* The DSS has claimed that hacking tutorials were discovered on an external hard drive.
if APC want to hack, i dont believe is now the would be watching tutorial to learn how to hack.there are gurus they could simply use

Some things sound so childish for Dss to say.

GEJ is not known to manipulate institutions of state. If he does there won't be this vibrant opposition APC as we have now. We can't continue to cast aspersion on vital institutions of state in the desperation for propaganda.

Nigerians are blinded by the opposition propaganda to reason wrongly.

When there's a crisis, the people support the govt but Nigerians oppose and ridicule the govt efforts thereby giving motivation to the terrorists. If not for the negative activities of the opposition party helped by gullible Nigerians, Boko Haram would've been a history. Simply called sabotage.

This behavior can be seen in many aspects of the nation's building.

On the issue of corruption and indeed all Nigerian problems, the best way to tackle it is by strengthening the institutions of democracy such as the judiciary, the press, the electoral system, et the civil society, etc, giving them the freedom to operate. This way corrupt officials will be reported by the free press, prosecuted by the free judiciary, and not voted in by the free and fair electoral system. That's the civilised way to fight corruption and the only successful way.
The system of jailing people indiscriminately is crude and wicked and can't stop corruption. Because it's ultimately abused. Buhari did it and some segments of the society cried favoritism, same with obj fight against his corrupt enemies leaving his friends to continue to loot the nation blind. So this system many Nigerians are wishing for under Buhari will fail. Other side effects is that successful businesses and businessmen will be jailed and their businesses closed thereby increasing the unemployment problems.

So let's open our eyes and minds to see that GEJ has the right policies to advance this nation. He's fighting corruption the right way which I've articulated above. By being open and free. We are free to see how much he spends on food, etc. This way corruption will die and development will flourish.

shizzle11:
And liar muhamad expects me to read all those jargons he spewed up there?...

Better learn to read!

doctokwus:
They dare not attempt to postpone this election.
Who in his right senses can tolerate gej's govt beyond may 29.

Am an MFM member, anybody that wish or will postpone election of feBUHARI ...holy Gost fire

kyrbabe:
GEJ is not known to manipulate institutions of state. If he does there won't be this vibrant opposition APC as we have now. We can't continue to cast aspersion on vital institutions of state in the desperation for propaganda.

Nigerians are blinded by the opposition propaganda to reason wrongly.

When there's a crisis, the people support the govt but Nigerians oppose and ridicule the govt efforts thereby giving motivation to the terrorists. If not for the negative activities of the opposition party helped by gullible Nigerians, Boko Haram would've been a history. Simply called sabotage.

This behavior can be seen in many aspects of the nation's building.

On the issue of corruption and indeed all Nigerian problems, the best way to tackle it is by strengthening the institutions of democracy such as the judiciary, the press, the electoral system, et the civil society, etc, giving them the freedom to operate. This way corrupt officials will be reported by the free press, prosecuted by the free judiciary, and not voted in by the free and fair electoral system. That's the civilised way to fight corruption and the only successful way.
The system of jailing people indiscriminately is crude and wicked and can't stop corruption. Because it's ultimately abused. Buhari did it and some segments of the society cried favoritism, same with obj fight against his corrupt enemies leaving his friends to continue to loot the nation blind. So this system many Nigerians are wishing for under Buhari will fail. Other side effects is that successful businesses and businessmen will be jailed and their businesses closed thereby increasing the unemployment problems.

So let's open our eyes and minds to see that GEJ has the right policies to advance this nation. He's fighting corruption the right way which I've articulated above. By being open and free. We are free to see how much he spends on food, etc. This way corruption will die and development will flourish.

r u through?

Great response from a great Party
Weldone Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Sai Change!

babatundeizbad:
in the history of publicity secretaries of political parties in this country, Lai Mohammed is one of the best if not the best of his kind

Barman give this man one big legend