All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday, in Lagos, alleged that the invasion of its Data Centre by the Department of State Security (DSS) was a plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to postpone next month’s general election.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this while addressing a press conference at the party’s Data Centre, Ikeja, maintaining that the APC was not planning to clone any permanent voter card (PVC) as alleged by the DSS and, therefore, the summary report released by the organisation on the invasion of the data centre was a hogwash.This is just as arrested staff of the party’s Data Centre, including the System Administrator, Esther Enemewe, Olaposi Fayemi (Supervisor), Ebun and Chinedu Atuche recalled their ordeals in the gulag of DSS in Lagos and Abuja, where they said they were chained, blindfolded, tortured and dehumanised as statements were obtained from them.
The DSS had, following a raid it carried on the data centre on November 22 2014, released a summary of its findings, alleged that the APC had an ”articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data, as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country.”
Mohammed, while further describing the summary report released by the DSS as an embarrassment to all intelligence-gathering organisations around the world, said it would like to tell Nigerians that the DSS finding was part of the ongoing efforts by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to postpone next month’s general election.
According to him, the DSS, which, it said, was working in collaboration with the PDP, had embarked on the venture having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians.
“We will like to tell all Nigerians that the crap called ‘findings’ is part of the ongoing efforts by the Jonathan administration to postpone next month’s general election. Having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians, the Jonathan administration has gone into a panic mode, while embarking on a plan to postpone the elections.
“Apparently, the thinking at the DSS, which is working in cahoots with the PDP, is that its report that the APC plans to hack into the voters’ registration data base of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will raise doubts about the integrity of the voter’s register to be used for the forthcoming polls, and subsequently force a postponement of the elections since the existing register cannot be used for the polls,” he said.
The APC spokesperson, while recalling that its earlier response to the DSS report the same day it was released, maintained that it still had reasons to dismiss the report, which it described as a great disservice to Nigeria, a bunkum, garbage that was not worth the paper on which it was written.
“Unfortunately for DSS and the PDP, this thinking was based on a wrong premise, as we will show shortly, and it has backfired.
“Before you say our claim is outlandish, remember that some prominent Nigerians have publicly called for the postponement of the election – which can only benefit the Jonathan-led administration and delay its impending waterloo at the polls. Place the calls side by side with the apparently doctored outcome of the DSS investigations and the timing of the report’s release, and you will understand where they are coming from.”
Alhaji Mohammed insisted that the findings by the DSS could not stand the test of time, as well as serious scrutiny by independent investigators because the DSS worked backwards, from answer to question, in an effort to reach a pre-determined conclusion.
According to him, the allegation that the party planned to hack into the INEC’s data base was false and also “the fact that the DSS made the allegation at all shows that the agency does not understand the concept of hacking, which is pathetic for a primary intelligence agency of its stature.”
He contended that DSS ‘findings’ were baseless as INEC’S database was a reflection of the registered members with the permanent voter cards (PVCs).
“Please note that at the time of the DSS’ raids, the PVCs had already been printed. Therefore, of what value would it be to hack into the system and input more names?”
“Simply put, it is not possible for the APC to hack into the INEC data base because “INEC’s database is not online, how then is it possible for anyone to hack into it? To prevent virus intrusion, there is no Internet service at the APC data centre that was raided. Therefore, it is not possible to hack into INEC’s database,” he said.
The party spokesperson, while throwing more posers, said, “As we have said, the overall motive of the raid of our offices and the so-called findings is to give the impression that the INEC voter’s register has been corrupted, hence cannot be used for next month’s elections. Now, a more specific question: Why did the DSS break into the APC Data Centre at the time it did?”
“Or what on earth was the purpose of the DSS carting away blank APC membership registration forms? Why did it take the DSS almost 50 days to reveal this information? If it were true, won’t they have released the information to the general public immediately? Has the DSS hired any renowned IT organisation to attest to its ‘findings’? Can you be an accuser and a judge at the same time?”
Faulting claims by the DSS that the APC had perfected plans to allegedly register Armed Forces and paramilitary personnel, Mohammed said, “This is a no-brainer! The question to ask the DSS is: Will any member of the Armed Forces and paramilitary organisations be so daft as to join a political party using a passport photograph of himself or herself in uniform? The DSS must think Nigerians are fools.”
On the alleged registration of babies, he said “to the best of our knowledge, a baby cannot vote? So, why would any organisation register a baby as a member? Our application edits date of birth, hence will not allow the registration of under-aged persons.
“The DSS should tell the world where it got the pictures of babies that it affixed to the blank forms that were carted away from our Data Centre. We did not and could not have registered babies as members. This allegation is nitwitted, to say the least.”
Picking holes in the alleged confessions by workers arrested from the Data Centre, the APC spokesperson said, “Please recall that in a statement we issued of December 5 2014, we accused the DSS of resorting to the use of torture to obtain forced confessions from the workers who were arrested during the first raid on our party’s Data Centre.”
“In that statement, we called the action of the DSS a contravention of the UN Convention against Torture to which Nigeria is a signatory and a violation of the citizens’ fundamental human rights.
“We also said the DSS shackled the hands and legs of those arrested and blindfolded them while they were being taken to Abuja; The arrested persons remained in chains even at the dark detention cell where they were made to sleep on the bare floor for the 10 days they were detained illegally.
“The workers had guns pointed at their heads by DSS personnel who threatened to shoot them- A pregnant woman among those who were arrested was denied access to her drugs even when she started bleeding due to the torture to which she was subjected by the DSS,” Mohammed narrated.
Source: Tribune
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this while addressing a press conference at the party’s Data Centre, Ikeja, maintaining that the APC was not planning to clone any permanent voter card (PVC) as alleged by the DSS and, therefore, the summary report released by the organisation on the invasion of the data centre was a hogwash.This is just as arrested staff of the party’s Data Centre, including the System Administrator, Esther Enemewe, Olaposi Fayemi (Supervisor), Ebun and Chinedu Atuche recalled their ordeals in the gulag of DSS in Lagos and Abuja, where they said they were chained, blindfolded, tortured and dehumanised as statements were obtained from them.
The DSS had, following a raid it carried on the data centre on November 22 2014, released a summary of its findings, alleged that the APC had an ”articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data, as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country.”
Mohammed, while further describing the summary report released by the DSS as an embarrassment to all intelligence-gathering organisations around the world, said it would like to tell Nigerians that the DSS finding was part of the ongoing efforts by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to postpone next month’s general election.
According to him, the DSS, which, it said, was working in collaboration with the PDP, had embarked on the venture having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians.
“We will like to tell all Nigerians that the crap called ‘findings’ is part of the ongoing efforts by the Jonathan administration to postpone next month’s general election. Having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians, the Jonathan administration has gone into a panic mode, while embarking on a plan to postpone the elections.
“Apparently, the thinking at the DSS, which is working in cahoots with the PDP, is that its report that the APC plans to hack into the voters’ registration data base of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will raise doubts about the integrity of the voter’s register to be used for the forthcoming polls, and subsequently force a postponement of the elections since the existing register cannot be used for the polls,” he said.
The APC spokesperson, while recalling that its earlier response to the DSS report the same day it was released, maintained that it still had reasons to dismiss the report, which it described as a great disservice to Nigeria, a bunkum, garbage that was not worth the paper on which it was written.
“Unfortunately for DSS and the PDP, this thinking was based on a wrong premise, as we will show shortly, and it has backfired.
“Before you say our claim is outlandish, remember that some prominent Nigerians have publicly called for the postponement of the election – which can only benefit the Jonathan-led administration and delay its impending waterloo at the polls. Place the calls side by side with the apparently doctored outcome of the DSS investigations and the timing of the report’s release, and you will understand where they are coming from.”
Alhaji Mohammed insisted that the findings by the DSS could not stand the test of time, as well as serious scrutiny by independent investigators because the DSS worked backwards, from answer to question, in an effort to reach a pre-determined conclusion.
According to him, the allegation that the party planned to hack into the INEC’s data base was false and also “the fact that the DSS made the allegation at all shows that the agency does not understand the concept of hacking, which is pathetic for a primary intelligence agency of its stature.”
He contended that DSS ‘findings’ were baseless as INEC’S database was a reflection of the registered members with the permanent voter cards (PVCs).
“Please note that at the time of the DSS’ raids, the PVCs had already been printed. Therefore, of what value would it be to hack into the system and input more names?”
“Simply put, it is not possible for the APC to hack into the INEC data base because “INEC’s database is not online, how then is it possible for anyone to hack into it? To prevent virus intrusion, there is no Internet service at the APC data centre that was raided. Therefore, it is not possible to hack into INEC’s database,” he said.
The party spokesperson, while throwing more posers, said, “As we have said, the overall motive of the raid of our offices and the so-called findings is to give the impression that the INEC voter’s register has been corrupted, hence cannot be used for next month’s elections. Now, a more specific question: Why did the DSS break into the APC Data Centre at the time it did?”
“Or what on earth was the purpose of the DSS carting away blank APC membership registration forms? Why did it take the DSS almost 50 days to reveal this information? If it were true, won’t they have released the information to the general public immediately? Has the DSS hired any renowned IT organisation to attest to its ‘findings’? Can you be an accuser and a judge at the same time?”
Faulting claims by the DSS that the APC had perfected plans to allegedly register Armed Forces and paramilitary personnel, Mohammed said, “This is a no-brainer! The question to ask the DSS is: Will any member of the Armed Forces and paramilitary organisations be so daft as to join a political party using a passport photograph of himself or herself in uniform? The DSS must think Nigerians are fools.”
On the alleged registration of babies, he said “to the best of our knowledge, a baby cannot vote? So, why would any organisation register a baby as a member? Our application edits date of birth, hence will not allow the registration of under-aged persons.
“The DSS should tell the world where it got the pictures of babies that it affixed to the blank forms that were carted away from our Data Centre. We did not and could not have registered babies as members. This allegation is nitwitted, to say the least.”
Picking holes in the alleged confessions by workers arrested from the Data Centre, the APC spokesperson said, “Please recall that in a statement we issued of December 5 2014, we accused the DSS of resorting to the use of torture to obtain forced confessions from the workers who were arrested during the first raid on our party’s Data Centre.”
“In that statement, we called the action of the DSS a contravention of the UN Convention against Torture to which Nigeria is a signatory and a violation of the citizens’ fundamental human rights.
“We also said the DSS shackled the hands and legs of those arrested and blindfolded them while they were being taken to Abuja; The arrested persons remained in chains even at the dark detention cell where they were made to sleep on the bare floor for the 10 days they were detained illegally.
“The workers had guns pointed at their heads by DSS personnel who threatened to shoot them- A pregnant woman among those who were arrested was denied access to her drugs even when she started bleeding due to the torture to which she was subjected by the DSS,” Mohammed narrated.
Source: Tribune
