The mass dismissal and retirement of personnel of the department of State Security Service (SSS), perceived to be partisan, corrupt or on collision course with the present leadership is causing ripples in the service.
Some of those affected are vowing to drag the security service to court.
The SSS had on Tuesday, September 1, sacked dozens of personnel including the former spokesperson of the service, Marilyn Ogar, the former Chief Security Officers (CSOs) to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Gordon Obua and others.
According to Premium Times report, some of the staff are crying foul over the decision of the service to dismiss them, saying it was borne out of malice than “on-going re-organisation in the Service”.
Obua, one of those affected, is challenging his dismissal by the service.
Speaking through his lawyer, Jonathan’s CSO said, the SSS failed to establish anything incriminating against him when he was detained and quizzed over alleged corruption, adding that he would challenge his dismissal in court.
One of those affected who pleaded anonymity said: “I have five years to retire. But suddenly I was sent on compulsory retirement without ever being queried or investigated for any wrongdoing.”
Also speaking, another officer claimed there were ulterior motives behind the mass retirement as it was targeted at “some specific staff”.
He claimed the new Director General, Lawal Daura, was on a “revenge mission”, and was targeting those he bore malice against before he (Daura’s) was recalled from retirement.
“We will challenge this injustice in court,” he vowed.
According to security sources, the mass retirement and dismissal were discriminatory as some were more favoured than others.
A security source explained that one of the affected officers was sent on retirement instead of outright dismissal after he went on Absence Without Leave (AWOL) for weeks with a service pistol, which he did not sign for.
“The offense is liable for dismissal. But because of favouritism, he was retired with full benefits, while others who did not commit any clear offence were dismissed from service. This is sheer injustice,” the source said.
