The statement said Bichi would take appropriate legal steps against Ude to seek redress, urging the public to disregard the falsehood.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied claims by blogger, Jackson Ude, that the director general of the secret police, Yusuf Bichi, looted staff grant.
DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya in a statement on Saturday said Ude was being mischievous and has continued to smear the image of Bichi as well as present him as corrupt while facts at the DSS prove otherwise.
The statement said: “The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to some spurious publications by one Jackson Ude on his twitter handle @jacksonpnb, against the person and office of the DGSS, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, CFR, fwc.
“The Service hereby states that the allegations are entirely false. It wishes to clarify that neither the DG nor anyone acting on his directive has looted staff subsidy grant. No such grant has been made available to the Service and once that is allocated, staff will, as usual, receive what is due them. Mr Bichi has, in all ramifications, evidently catered for the welfare of active and retired personnel. This is common knowledge and can be verified by Ude.
“Similarly, the so called ‘goodbye allowance’ which Ude accused the DG of granting himself is non-existent. It is only an imagination of the writer and his sponsors. But assuming the DG is paid any severance package at the end of his tenure, how is that unethical and outside established public service rule?
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“While Ude is at his mischief once again and has continued to smear the image of Mr Bichi as well as present him as corrupt, facts at the DSS show otherwise. Recalled from retirement in 2018 and appointed the DGSS, Bichi is seen as spartan, accountable, transparent and indeed, incorruptible. He has remained resolute in running the Service and shown uncommon commitment in the management of its affairs. His top priorities are staff welfare and judicious application of human and material resources. Any misleading narratives to the contrary are therefore unacceptable.
“Notably, the Service is aware of the desperation and antics of Ude and his other hirelings to associate it with unnecessary controversies either during the 2023 Presidential election or the subsequent litigations following it. The recent campaign of calumny is one of such. But as always, the DGSS is unperturbed. The Service under him will continue to chart a professional course aimed at internal security of the country.”
The statement said Bichi would take appropriate legal steps against Ude to seek redress, urging the public to disregard the falsehood.