DSS Alleges Plot To Destabilise Kano Over March 18 Elections

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested two suspects over alleged calls and deliberate incitement of violence in parts of Kano. It claimed a political party planned to storm the offices of security agencies on March 16 in solidarity with the suspects.
DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
The secret service said the suspects had separately recorded messages and shared them through various social media channels.
“In those potentially harmful messages, they specifically championed certain political interests and called on their supporters to violently attack those opposed to them,” said Nigeria’s secret police, adding that “The suspects also called for attacks on security personnel during the Saturday’s governorship and house of assembly election in the state.”
The DSS added: “A particular political party in Kano threatened to organise (a) protest march in the metropolis as a result of the planned attacks.
“While the Service alerts the public of this planned illegal action, it calls on the concerned party to shelve it forthwith or be ready to face the consequences. The DSS will not idly watch misguided persons or groups undermine the peace and security of the state,” the statement said.
It urged the party’s leadership to rein in its members and desist from conduct capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in Kano and its environs before, during and after the scheduled election.
According to the statement, the DSS is collaborating with other security agencies to ensure adequate security for Saturday’s elections.
It said that the DSS had arrested “similar subversive elements” that threatened violence in other states.