Arewa Youth Federation, an umbrella body of youth from the 19th northern states of Nigeria has condemned in strong terms, the purported calls by a group it termed faceless organisation pretending to be from the region, demanding the resignation of Mallam Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS) over flimsy and unfounded allegations.
The group that prides itself as the mouthpiece of youth in all the 19 states of the northern region as well as a staunch advocate for good governance in a press release signed and made available to journalists by its National Coordinator, Malam Kabir Muhammad described those behind the call as paid agents who can do anything for money including selling their birthright.
The AYF particularly accused cronies of the embattled governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB), Mr Godwin Emefiele and Alhaji Aminu Yaro Dogara, the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos state and chairman ,Council of Arewa Chiefs in Southern Nigeria who was arrested by security service over suspicion of financial crimes.
The statement read in part: “Let it be abundantly clear that Arewa Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) does not exist neither does it have the mandate of the people it pretends to represent. Those behind this faceless organisation are nothing but thugs under the payroll of some unpatriotic elements. As the authentic representatives of our people, we distance ourselves from their threats. The DSS boss and his team are doing a nice job and we stand in solidarity with them”.
In countering the allegations leveled against Bichi and the DSS, the group insisted that as the number one security agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring national security, the DSS has always acted in an ethical and professional manner while conducting its operations, adding that those trying to blackmail the DSS are agents of corrupt entities bent on jeopardizing Nigeria’s national security.
“As a security agency, the DSS maintain international best practices. Detaining individuals for security reasons is a routine and standard practice everywhere,” the statement read in part.
