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Ex-DSS chief claims Nigeria Police ignored intelligence reports on Imo attacks

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DSS stops June 12 rally in Ibadan, arrests three

A former Assistant Director at the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree has said that the Nigeria Police ignored warnings about the attacks on the correctional facility and police headquarters in Imo State before they occured.

Amachree in an interview on Channels Television monitored by Ripple Nigeria, said the police was warned three times about the attacks, noting that the events, especially the one on Monday, could have been averted if the police were on their toes.

“There is enough actionable intelligence; actionable in the sense that it allows for space for people to execute it. One week ahead of this particular event and 72 hours before the event and 48 hours before the event, about three times, the Nigerian police were informed that this was going to happen.

“Some suspects that were being geolocated around the area were found surveilling the prisons and the police headquarters, but you know, in our lackadaisical way, when the intelligence comes, they throw it by the side, and then of course when something happens, everybody runs around.”

Amachree maintained that the DSS could not have acted on its own intelligence because it was not “a fighting force,” he explained.

READ ALSO: DSS denies reports it tortured Buhari’s driver to death

“The actionable party is actually the police, because when they say a particular installation or facility is under threat, then the actionable party would go ahead to correct it.

“The DSS is not a fighting force. They have a protective department that is basically responsible for the security of persons, VIPS. But when it comes to fighting, they always liaise with sister agencies, either the police or the military.”

He noted that “some people are just lazy to do their jobs” and advised other states to learn from Lagos State.

“In Lagos, the same intelligence has been coming around and of course they have been proactive. If it is happening in the North-East, it could happen in Lagos. Lagos itself has taken proactive steps, especially when it comes to securing correctional facilities in the state. And I think that’s what other states should follow now because they can’t sit back and wait until it happens to them,” he added.

The attacks, which took place on Monday, have been followed by other attacks on other police facilities in the state.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma had blamed the recent attacks on security facilities in the state on aggrieved politicians who he said, aimed to destabilise his government and that of President Muhammadu Buhari.

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