EXCLUSIVE:
EKPENYONG: Blackmailed out of Nigeria’s Secret Service…Threatened, harassed, compelled to sign prepared Resignation Letter
*Many Troubles for Buhari’s new DG–Secret Police, Lawan Musa Daura
*Marilyn Ogar, SSS image maker humiliated, Escaped Assassination
* PLUS Boko Haram Connection
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/CNN iReport NORTH AMERICA & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NAIJA STANDARD
NOT many people are in the know that there are lots of mysteries surrounding the removal of Ita Ekpenyong, director-general of State Security Service, SSS, a Masters degree holder in Philosophy, first director of Institute of Security Studies, Abuja and the first Nigerian under whom the public had perception of SSS, by administration of President Muhammadu Buhari last week Thursday.
Undercover investigation reaching CNN iReport few days before the announcement by Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kafiasi through Haruna Imrana, Director of Communications, had it that with all set to ‘sack’ Ita, few Secret Police officers loyal to Lawal Musa Daura, newly appointed Head of Secret Service by Buhari had stormed Department of State Service Headquarters, barged their ways into Ita’s office and demanded him to allegedly sign ‘a resignation letter’ they had brought for him from ‘higher authorities above’.
As an intelligent officer, CNN iReport gathered Ita had demanded to know why he must resign his appointment, and requested sometime to make few phone calls, at this point, Ita was told by one of our sources that if he loves his life, he should just resign…else he may not like the fate that may befall him, with threat, harassment and danger obviously lurking in the corner, Ita signed the already prepared ‘Resignation Letter’ similar to same letter prepared by late General Sani Abacha, former Nigeria’s Military Head of State for Ernest Shonekan, then Head, Interim National Government, ING, to forcefully quit power.
Ita was led out of his office same day after his forced resignation, only allowed to take with him his cell phones and suit case, without been allowed to check or touch any files in the SSS Headquarters after-wards, while his phones may have been bugged to track him not divulging any information to the press.
Our security sources explained: “Ita was blackmailed out Nigeria’s Secret Service as its director-general. He was threatened, harassed and compelled to sign-off his resignation forcefully from office. He did not resign out of his own volition. If he had not signed that resignation letter, only God would have known the fate that he would have faced eventually. Some of the secret police officers, loyalists of Lawal who brought this bad news to Ita were fully armed. He was told he would have been sacked, but they knew if Ita had been sacked, there would have been various condemnation of Buhari’s administration by the people, and not wanting to be seen as an autocratic ruler, he was eased out through the backdoor of blackmail and warned never ever to tell the press he was forced to resign; rather he resigned by himself. This is is nothing short of blackmail.”
Security thinking in Buhari’s administration fully believe Ita was too loyal to the last government of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ, and was allegedly the invincible hands behind the earlier raid of All Progressives Party, APC, Lagos office during the last election.
Marilyn Ogar, SSS image maker humiliated, Escaped Assassination
Lawal who became the 6th director-general of SSS, was determined to deal with Marilyn Ogar, former Director, Public Relations of the Secret Service recently demoted by a circular letter from Head of SSS.
To deal with Marilyn, she was earlier re-assigned to Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, by sheer luck Marilyn had traveled to Abuja to try to see Lawal on this new posting.
Few hours after then, Boko Haram terrorists who invaded the highways of Maiduguri had suicide bombers detonate bombs few miles away from Marilyn’s new posting office. This tells everyone monitoring this development that this highly-intelligent operational director may have escaped death by whiskers. But statement again was issued from Lawal’s office that Marilyn re-assignment to Maiduguri had been canceled; as she was now recalled to Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Challenges facing Lawal, new DG-SSS
We can tell you authoritatively that Lawal who rose through the rank from 1982 to become a director in SSS earlier in some states, and Deputy Director, Presidential Communication, Command and Control Center in Presidential Villa between 2003 to 2007; even after his graduation from National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru’ he is alleged in many foreign security circles to be lacking in ‘Operations’ knowledge, unlike his predecessors. That was why he could not immediately analyze intelligence information handed out to him on Boko Haram’s then intended attack in Kano recently. There is apprehension that with Lawal in helms of affairs on domestic intelligence protection for the president, governors, his inefficiency may sooner come the more to the public eyes if the rates of Boko Haram attacks against Nigeria and Nigerians is on the increase. And his appointment, is being seen as ‘political’ since he came from the same village, ‘Daura’ with Buhari.
