Secretary to the Plateau State government, Architect Samuel Jatau, in a statement on Tuesday urged members of the public to ignore rumours that the secret police was working at cross-purposes with the state government, saying such ideas only exist in the imagination of mischief makers.
The government was reacting to a report on social media claiming that prior to the recent attacks by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in parts of the state, DSS operatives in the state seized weapons bought by the state government for members of the state security outfit called “Operation Rainbow.”
Quoting unnamed sources, the report further claimed that it was the seizure of the weapons by DSS operatives that prevented members of Operation Rainbow from warding off the attackers.
Reacting to the report, the SSG said it found the report embarrassing, especially in the face of the fact that the DSS had greatly supported efforts by the state government to restore peace in several parts of the state.
“Reports on Facebook and other social media handles have a misleading story purporting that the Department of State Services (DSS) seized arms procured for the Plateau State neighbourhood watch – Operation Rainbow,” stated the SSG.
He continued, “We wish to clearly state that this is far from the truth. At no time has the Department of State Services, even in error, stalled or undertook any action to scuttle government efforts at fighting insecurity in Plateau State.
“To the contrary, the Department (DSS) has been a most reliable partner and has helped in several ways to assist the state in curbing insecurity,” the SSG said in the statement
“The public is therefore advised to ignore those reports as they are misleading, erroneous, and aimed at causing disaffection and acrimony between the government of the state and the Department of State Services,” he declared.
