Former zonal Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Kogi West senatorial district, Mr. Mohammed Mohammed said yesterday that the Department of State Services(DSS) has no report on the Kogi West election before the Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja.
Mohammed, who debunked earlier media reports indicating that the DSS had submitted a preliminary report to the Tribunal said in Abuja that he attended the Tuesday sitting and the DSS never presented any such report.
According to Mohammed, an operative of the DSS, who claimed to have been attached to the office of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election, Mr. Victor Garba, who was quoted as having submitted a report from the DSS was not acting on behalf of the DSS as he could not present an identity card to prove that he was a member of staff of the DSS. He also said the said report tendered by the acclaimed operative failed under cross examination by the counsel to Senator Smart Adeyemi, Mr. Kayode Olatoke, as according to him, the man was subpoenaed in his personal name and not in the name of DSS.
“The said operative was not acting on behalf of the DSS in the case between Senator Smart Adeyemi and Dino Melaye. He could not produce an identity card and he only submitted a report on plain sheet of paper. That cannot be said to be a report of the DSS,” Mohammed insisted.
“The man who claimed that Dino was properly nominated was subpoenaed in his personal capacity and not in the name of INEC. He also claimed that the primary of the APC held in Lokoja and Kabba and could not give the names of the officers that conducted it. The result he submitted was not on INEC letter head but on plain sheets. Counsel to Senator Adeyemi said it clearly that the man was not acting for INEC, so, it is wrong to claim that INEC had exonerated Dino over the issue of primaries, “ he added.
