‘DG SSS Is A Little Tyrant, I’ll Confront Him Over False Report Against Me’,Says Col. Umar

By Danlami Nmodu
Former Governor of Kaduna State Colonel Abubakar Umar has vowed to confront Mr Ita Ekpeyong, Director General ,Department of Security Service ,DSS better known as SSS over a fake report the DG allegedly cooked up against himself and some northerners two weeks ago.
Speaking with Newsdiaryonline on Friday Umar said, he will confront the DG in the interest of the country.He insists that the DG must be made to reveal the source of a false security addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan and other security agencies . “Ekpenyong is a little tyrant that the country should be saved from.He is busy creating enemies for Mr President.So I will have to confront the DG SSS.He must reveal his source, “Umar said.
The DG SSS in a report to the president and other security agencies, according to Umar alleged that the former governor along with Professor Ango Abdullahi,Major Mustapha Jokolo,deposed emir of Gwandu ,Colonel Hameed Ali ,former military administrator of Kaduna State as s well ass an AIG who is believed to have died about 20 years ago and many others met in Col Umar’s residence in Kaduna.The SSS report claimed that those at the meeting decided to arm 200 northern youths .It also said that Umar ,Professor Abdullahi and others decided to reach out to Imams in military barracks and requested them to preach hate messages against President Goodluck Jonathan.
Umar said anybody who is familiar with mere newspaper reports especially t will know that there has been a lot of bad blood between Professor Ango Abdullahi and Jokolo.And how would anyone imagine that these two people will meet under any circumstance to agree to plot anything .
The lies of DGSSS were exposed when one SSS personnel who felt very disturbed by the unfounded allegations got in touch with Umar.Also, very senior SSS personnel too decided to alert him about this fake report.
It was learnt that some topshots of other security agencies called the DG SSS cautioning him that they could not imagine the vocal former governor of doing what the DG’s report had alleged given his antecedents and given his well known support for President Jonathan.The other security top shots also argued that they could not imagine how a person who sacrificed his military career to defend an election won by Chief MKO Abiola ,a Yoruba man would do a thing like this.They argued that Umar has not been linked with any ethnic campaigns .Others also argued that if he could rise up against his mentor,General Ibrahim Babangida, they could not see how he would now join Ango Abdullahi and others .
Umar told Newsdiaryonline that when he received information about the false report by the DG SSS, he felt so bad that he decided to reach president through an aide.He found out that the president had not received the report yet. ‘I insisted they should ask other security agencies for the report’,Umar said.Actually, the DG’s report against Umar surfaced on the 14th of April while Umar’s petition to the president reached him on the 15th .
At that time, the president was said to be expecting reports on the Nyanya bombing and the abduction of female students of Chibok in Borno State.But the President was said to have been surprised to hear that instead of reports about these two critical incidents(Nyanya and Chibok)people around him were also talking about the report against Umar.
As the disquiet over this report raged, the President summoned the DG SSS and asked him to confirm its veracity.Jonathan reportedly wondered how anyone could imagine Umar would be involved in this given that he has acquitted himself as a nationalist and a credible person without pecuniary gain.Jonathan asked Ekpeyong to furnish him with his source of this strange report.He is yet to reveal the source.
There are several reasons why Umar believes the DG SSS must not get away with what he has done.The former governor said people have been asking him whether he will forgive the DSS (especially the DG)for what they it has done.He told Newsdiaryonline that his reply has been that, he is indeed concerned that if he could be treated like this, it means Nigerians are not safe.This development is even more worrisome coming at a time the nation is facing a seemingly intractable insurgency.Umar says ,it is pertinent to know that even the military also relies on the SSS for reports.How can we rely on DSS that can concoct this sort of report ?he asked.
He also argued that if the DSS could not foresee the Nyanya bomb blast and the Chibok incident, it means the DSS attention is being diverted by its focus on trivial reports against people.
Umar said “Iam also concerned about the lack of respect for the President (by the DG SSS).If he believes the president can believe this nonsense,it shows total disrespect for the president and it shows the danger we face as a country”.
Giving an insight into the genesis of his problem with the SSS, the self-confessed June 12 fundamentalist who is now a civil rights activist said it all began when the military especially the Nigerian Army stormed an uncompleted building in Abuja on 20th September 2013 killing 8 and injuring a dozen others.The military was said to have acted on intelligence provided by the SSS. “I was one of the many Nigerians that called to question the veracity of the story.” He said it was extra judicial killing ,that the squatters were not Boko Haram and called on the FG to investigate the matter.
Eventually the Senate and the National Human Rights Commission,NHRC decided to investigate the matter.Though the Senate Report exonerated the military, the NHRC indicted the security agencies.Even more, the NHRC decided that the FG should pay compensation to the victims.Umar says it is clear to him that the DG SSS was not happy with the views he expressed.
Also, he said, he had cause to complain against the arrest and detention of one Muhammed Yunus, a lecturer at Kogi State University.He recalled that he drew attention to the facts that the arrested lecturer’s doctoral thesis condemned Boko Haram.Yunus is still in detention .Umar also said his revelations about this SSS suspect appear to have piqued the DG.That was why,he alleged , two weeks ago ,the SSS boss decided to cook up a report to the president against him and others.
Since this fake report incident came to light,Umar said people have been asking whether the SSS had invited him for questioning.His reply is that they have not.He believes what the SSS intended was to pass a secret memo to tarnish his name reputation .Unfortunately the report leaked.
He recalled that this is not his first experience with the SSS.Umar revealed that on the eve of the death of General Sani Abacha,an SSS personnel came to his Kaduna residence hoping to meet him.Unfortunately he had travelled.But the personnel left s message with his wife.The message was that he should avoid travelling and that he should also avoid his gas complex in Kaduna.The SSS personnel said he overheard a discussion of a plot within official quarters during Abacha’s era to eliminate Umar .
He said this story was later confirmed by a former head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence,DMI who later expressed his desire to appear before Oputa panel to reveal the plot story behind the plot to kill him. “I stopped him(the ex DMI topgun) from going to Oputa panel….The point is that there are very good people in DSS (and other security agencies)but sometimes the leadership is dubious..”, Umar told Newsdiaryonline.