Protest: DSS Arrests Seven Polish Citizens in Kano
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
As a result of the recent nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance in the country and subsequent display of foreign flags in some states of the federation, the Department of State Services (DSS) has said that no fewer than seven Polish citizens have been arrested in Kano.
The suspects have been transferred to Abuja for further interrogation, a source said.
The suspects were said to be students in one of the tertiary institutions in Kano.
The spokesperson of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), Peter Afunanya, made the disclosure on Wednesday while responding to the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria on the whereabouts of the suspects during the briefing of the Diplomatic Corps by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, on the nationwide protest.
Afunanya said they were found during the protest displaying foreign flags in Kano.
He noted that they were picked as a result of security enforcement because of where they were and not targeted at the Polish.
He said: “For the persons we have picked up from Kano because of where they were found during the protest and display of foreign flags in Kano, that was two days ago and as a responsible security organisation, we owe it an obligation to do some verification and ascertain basic reasons and circumstances for some cases.
“They were picked as a result of security enforcement because of where they were when the incident happened. It is not a targeted operation on behalf of my Director General and DSS and Nigeria.
“As the foremost domestic security organisation, we believe we have to work in sync with all of you who are men and county of goodwill and our operations must be governed by democratic principles and protocol that emphasises freedom and human rights and of course intelligence and security governance we obey all of this whether we are dealing with Nigerians or foreigners.
“But we have a plea, in the cause of the discharge of our duty, we will also see that some Nigerians definitely would want to use foreign lands as a lunch pad to attack domestic peace and stability. We plead that you do not offer your country to some person who may be deviance or have terrorist inclinations. In today’s global pursuit, if anything happened in a country, it will affect the others. Nigeria is a country with a large population and I believe that the support other countries will give will help us.”
