Several Nigerians have criticized the Department of State Security (DSS) after the secret police were invited to intervene in an allegation of examination fraud.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had accused Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma from Anambra of forging her result.
JAMB Boss, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, had announced that the DSS would handle the case, leaving many Nigerians bewildered.
“The DSS really lost so much value this year. Opening a Twitter account topped it for me. Hearing they were also invited to investigate the girl involved in that JAMB result scandal. How did they get that low?” Social media influencer, Kelvin Odanz queried.
Emma ik Umeh, a PDP chieftain, said:
”I can only imagine what this girl is going through. Any little thing they will call the DSS, they have made a mess of the DSS. I do not believe that that girl forged her result. JAMB has a lot of questions to answer.”
Hon. Ben Igbakpa, a former House of Reps member, wrote:
”I stand with Ejikeme Mmesoma in her travails. This shameful attempt by JAMB to intimidate her with the DSS and deflect their faults is wicked. We must ensure a system that protects the young and rewards their hard work. Let us demand the truth.”
Oyiga Micheal, a digital marketer, wrote:
“I’ve been reading the JAMB girl gist and didn’t want to get involved, but some of you should be ashamed of yourself. And why would the DSS go to pick a 16yrs old? Special squad? The whole Twitter bashing a 16yrs old?”
A TV reality star, Leo Dasilva noted that the DSS getting involved in a civil matter indicates that Nigerians are unsafe.
His words:
“In this entire JAMB saga, what stood out most for me is the DSS getting involved. If the Nigerian Police can’t be trusted with something as simple as this investigation by the Nigerian Government that pays them, then we are in real trouble as citizens who rely on them for safety.”
The DSS is a security agency in Nigeria that reports its activities to the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Initially known to restrict itself to issues that have severe consequences for national security, the secret police has meddled in matters beyond its purview in the past few years.
This has made many Nigerians accuse the DSS of being used for personal vendetta by those in authority.
