DSS arrests PDP campaign spokesman in Kaduna

Officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested the Director, Media and Publicity, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign council in Kaduna State, Mr. Ben Bako. Bako was whisked away by operatives from Kaduna to Abuja about 11p.m. on Saturday after honouring an invitation to the DSS office earlier in the day.

The former Commissioner for Information in the state was seen in a recent campaign video asking supporters to deal with those who betray the PDP in the southern part of Kaduna State. Bako was said to have handed down the threat while speaking in Hausa at a rally in Kafanchan, in Southern Kaduna. But reacting to the arrest, the Deputy Chairman, PDP Campaign Council, Danjuma Sarki, said the party was “calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Ben Bako after being harassed and illegally detained without trial for over 24 hours”.

The council also accused the DSS of bias, saying it “has become compromised and partisan in Kaduna State and we say no to such development. “We believe that Kaduna State Director of the DSS, Ahmadu Idris, will not be neutral in the 2019 general elections and we call for his immediate redeployment. We call on both local and international election observers to take special interest in Kaduna State elections.”