The recent press release by the Directorate
of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s secret
police, to the effect that they discovered
some fifty shallow graves, five of which
they claimed had some Fulani natives
buried in them, is most unfortunate to
have come from an otherwise responsible
security outfit.
While we await the veracity or otherwise
of this story and or the true circumstances
surrounding them, Nigerians are already
holding their breath to know what next
could happen especially as the DSS declared
that the bodies were corpses of Fulani
natives purportedly murdered by IPOB/
MASSOB members.
The reason Nigerians still hold the DSS in
very serious doubt about this unfolding
scenario is not far- fetched. The DSS under
its current leadership has become
notorious for acting irresponsibly and
misleading the public on several occasions
just to create enemies for perceived
political opponents of the President,
members of the opposition, or those who
are considered irritants to the current
administration for one reason or the other.
For example, this same DSS once invaded
the Akwa Ibom State government house
and its guest houses and claimed to have
discovered a cache of arms and stockpiles
of dollars there. This report genuinely
enraged the citizens who already
condemned the Akwa Ibom State governor,
Udom Emmanuel and his predecessor,
Godswill Akpabio, only for the report of
discovered arms and dollars to be mere
propaganda as the DSS could not charge
anyone for such a supposed strange and
felonious discovery, months after.
Also, the DSS’s recent invasion of the
hallowed chambers of the Ekiti State House
of Assembly, against democratic norms,
where some members of the house were
whisked away on frivolous grounds, and
released except for one Hon Afolabi Akanbi,
who was held incommunicado for good
eighteen days without being released or
charged to court within 48 hours as
required by law until he became so ill it
was rumoured he was dead before, for fear
of him dying in their custody, he was
released a very sick and shattered man.
As usual, after all the showmanship by the
DSS, no charges were preferred against any
of the Ekiti lawmakers. Of course, there
could not have been any since it was
widely believed that the whole exercise
was an action in rascality and politically
motivated to target one of Buhari’s fiery
critics and political albatross, Governor Ayo
Fayose of Ekiti State.
This is not counting the numerous court
orders which the DSS have continuously
and flagrantly disobeyed, behaving like a
child who throws needless tantrums for
attention and who must destroy others
just to impress his father.
So, when the DSS made the announcement
that they have discovered those shallow
graves, one wondered what their true
intentions were. Knowing full well that
Nigeria’s peace is fragile, and what such
irresponsible announcement could cause in
the north against the Igbo and other non-
Hausa/Fulani ethnic nationalities.
A more responsible institution would have
been more circumspect especially when
investigations are still ongoing and the
identities of the other fifty corpses also
purportedly discovered in the forest have
not been ascertained; neither is/are the
cause(s) of death confirmed.
I was in Abia State over the weekend when
the DSS released the press statement and I
make bold to say that the portion that says
“Following this act, tension is currently
rife among communal stakeholders in the
State…” is absolutely false and
uncharitable of the DSS as there is no
tension in Abia State. The state is very
peaceful, and if not for the press release of
the DSS, not many people would have been
aware of any incident. Even at that, almost
all the people have carried on their normal
businesses. Obviously they are still very
much oblivious of the DSS’ alarm.
This attempt to create tension where there
is none is most unfortunate. The divisive
tendencies employed are, to say the least,
deplorable.
Among the purported 50 graves discovered
by the security agents, why were they
particularly interested only in the five
being talked about? Are the other graves
not bearing the bodies of Nigerians? There
are many more questions for these men to
answer.
In as much as one does not and should
never condone criminality under whatever
guise, one wonders why the DSS has not
made a single comment about the
continued terrorist attacks of whole
communities by the Fulani herdsmen?
In Agatu, about 300 people including
defenceless women and helpless children
were massacred in one night by these
herdsmen who have been ranked as the
4th most dangerous terrorist group in the
world by the Global Terror Index. The
corpses of the victims littered the streets,
some were lucky to be buried in shallow
graves but the DSS never ever found it
disturbing enough to make an effort even
if it was just a press release to condemn
that dastardly act. Rather, the herdsmen
have been allowed to walk free and wallow
in the false euphoria of conquerors while
still going about with their AK 47 rifles
even after some of their leaders admitted
carrying out the genocide right in a
security meeting.
Contrast this to the purported 5 corpses of
Fulani natives said to have been discovered
in Abia State and the venom with which
the DSS spoke on that episode, and one
might not be wrong to conclude that the
security agency is dangerously playing an
ethnic card and desperately fishing for
crimes with which to hang on Nnnamdi
Kanu the IPOB leader and ultimately
destroy him.
Beyond Agatu, the Fulani herdsmen have
been traversing the length and breadth of
this country under the guise of cattle
grazing while they unleash terror on their
host communities. Yet, neither Buhari nor
Daura has condemned them even for once.
Nigerians are watching!
The biasness of the security agency in
killing IPOB members demonstrating
peacefully, orderly and are not known to
have killed anyone in the course of their
agitations, compared to the freedom
allowed the Fulani militia to embark on
their killing spree unchallenged, is ominous
and disturbing and reflective of Buhari’s
language.He has betrayed his emotions on
such issues like the Shiite Muslims, IPOB/
MASSOB, and the entire South East/South
South whom he literally said would get
only 5% of government attention in
proportion to the votes he received from
those zones. So, while victims of the zone
receive 5% of government protection, the
Fulani militia is receiving 97% security
cover.
The disdain with which he talked about
Nnamdi Kanu and the Biafra agitators and
the Shiite Muslims massacred by the Army,
on national television has since formed the
direction our security agents work.
Even while on Al Jazeera, Buhari attempted
to save himself from the shame of a nation
under his presidency when he turned down
the offer to watch on screen how Nigerian
soldiers murdered IPOB protesters.
So, with all these, one knows where the
DSS and other security agencies are coming
from when they sensationalise and
sectionalise matters of national security
just to score banal political points.
The earlier they desist from such, the
better for our nation
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/dss-shallow-graves-sensationalism-sectionalism/
Ndukwe, wrote from Abuja.