DSS Transfers Marilyn Ogar To Maiduguri

The changes at the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria's
secret police, entered another phase during the week, with new
postings and a series of reversals.
DSS spokesperson, ‎Marilyn Ogar, who was until recently, DSS deputy
director, public relations, was transferred to Maiduguri, Borno State.

The posting has however been put on hold, following insinuations that
it was "punitive."
Ogar, as spokesperson, was responsible for defending the activities of
the agency in the media and she is believed to be paying for some of
her pronouncements, notably in the face-off with the Bring Back Our
Girls movement and the DSS raids on the Lagos office of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) last year.

She has already lost her promotion, following the nullification of the
recent exercise.

"Right now, she is just hanging around in Abuja, awaiting the next
order," a source at the agency told an online platform, the Cable.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently appointed Lawal Musa Daura as the
acting DSS director-general, following the resignation of Ita
Ekpenyong, who was reportedly asked to go because of the alleged
"partisanship" of the agency under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Also, about 45 new state directors who were promoted under Jonathan,
have lost their new ranks as their promotions have been reversed.
Buhari refused to swear them in last Thursday, an indication that the
promotion exercise had been annulled. Daura has also ordered the sack
of fresh graduates who were recently employed after an eight-month
training.

Daura, it was learnt, has been mandated to probe the tenure of his
predecessor. An official from the office of the secretary to the
government of the federation (SGF) has been pencilled down to do the
job.

The official, from Katsina state, is expected to be appointed as the
new director of finance, taking over from an operative from Plateau
State, who was only appointed recently.

"Daura's mandate is to probe Ekpenyong, but it is not looking bright
because some of the allegations being examined are difficult to prove.
It has now been established that the raids on the APC office in Lagos
were based on a tip-off by an APC member. This has complicated
matters," the source added.

The DSS had raided the office on the allegation that the voters'
biometric cards were being illegally produced there, a move that
generated public outrage. The agency did not charge any suspect to
court.

Some top DSS operatives, meanwhile, are beginning to question the
capacity of the new DG to pilot the affairs of the agency.The
reorganisation exercise is expected to continue as new governments
usually fill strategic positions at the agency with loyalists.

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