SAN FRANCISCO, August 14, (THEWILL) – A civil society group, Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, (CENTREP), has called on authorities of State Security Service (SSS) to arrest persons allegedly involved in the alleged N14million bribery scandal rather than fielding Nigerians with unsubstantiated allegation .
A statement signed by the Executive Director of the group, Oghenejabor Ikimi, said the allegation would amount to a mere publicity stunt if the SSS can’t identify the political party which allegedly offered to bribe the two SSS officials to compromise in the just concluded Osun State Governorship Election.
The group said that if the SSS fails to name the political party allegedly involved in the purported bribery scandal, it mean the agency was compounding felony or is becoming an accessory to the purported bribery.
“It is therefore in the light of the foregoing we are calling on the SSS to immediately name the political party and persons allegedly involved in the above callous act for possible trial as failure to so do would be tantamount to the SSS as an organisation compounding felony or better still being an accessory to the above crime of bribery,” the group said.
CENTREP however described the statement credited to the SSS spokesperson , Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, in the media to the effect that an unnamed political party offered two SSS officials a combined bribe of N14 million to make them compromise the just concluded Osun State gubernatorial election, as a mere publicity stunt in the absence of any valid evidence since the entire allegation is largely unsubstantiated.
“If we may ask, why is the service hiding the identity of the political party if they want Nigerians to believe them?
“Or better still why the persons involved were not arrested and handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution?
“Nigerians are indeed tired of fraudulent and compromised elections and it would gladden the hearts of every Nigerian to hear our security agencies arresting and prosecuting political marauders and buccaneers in our polity who are bent on destroying our fledgling democracy,” the statement further said.
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