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| Ex-DSS Director, Mr. Mike Ejiofor |
A former Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Mr Mike Ejiofor has explained why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot beam its anti-corruption searchlight on the financial details of the DSS.
He said this on Friday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s programme, State of the Nation.
“You have no powers conferred on you to investigate the spending of the State Security Service. And if he (Magu) has a problem, he should have gone to the sitting DG (Daura) to say I have a problem with your former DG,” he said.
Ejiofor’s comments come hours after the Senate had quizzed EFCC’s Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, and Director-General of SSS, Mr Lawal Daura.
Both men were invited to explain the roles played by their operatives when EFCC attempted to arrest a former DSS boss, Mr Ita Ekpenyong.
Prior to the commencement of the sitting, the senator had ordered journalists out of the room from coverage.
The development, according to Ejiofor, is a normal one as it borders on national security.
He said, “That is the proper thing to do. In such sittings you don’t expect the press or members of the public to begin to listen to some issues that are capable of jeorpardising national security interest.
“You can agree with me that both the EFCC Chairman and the DG, SSS agreed that the sitting should be held in camera instead of allowing the press to witness it.
“That is my worry, we are talking about security, funding of security form this whole episode. There are certain things that should come to the public domain.”
He, however, reiterated the need for an enhanced synergy between the relevant security agencies in fighting crimes rather than acrimony.
The panel, chaired by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, had conducted its investigative hearings behind closed doors but the House of Representatives conducted the same probe on a live broadcast.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Alimikhena, after his opening remarks at the hearing on EFCC/DSS clash, asked if any of the heads of the agencies in attendance had any observations or questions.
Ekpeyong, who served as the head of the DSS from 2010 to 2015, had been invited by the EFCC for his alleged role in the arms scam involving a former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and other service chiefs who have since been arraigned.
While admitting Magu’s view that nobody is above the law, Ejiofor stated that the anti-graft agency, however, ought to follow some ‘due process’ in its planned arrest.
He also advocated ‘special’ protection for both serving and former heads of the DSS owing to them being in possession of classified information.
“Don’t also forget that this man, the former DG and previous DGs, not this one, in particular, are custodians of very vital information and the need some protection, even out of office.
“So I don’t see how the Chairman of EFCC or EFCC on its own can go and obtain a warrant. You cannot put something or nothing, that has been my position,” he said.
