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Imo state governor briefed before attack – Ex-DSS Director

Dennis Amachree, a former Assistant Director with the Department of State Services, has said the secret Police alerted the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma and members of the Nigeria Police Force at least three times before the Monday attacks in the State.

He however said the Governor and members of the Nigeria Police Force did not act on the intelligence of the DSS

This was revealed by Uzodinma while speaking with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme

On Monday, gunmen attacked the Owerri Correctional Centre and freed over 1,800 inmates. They also razed the Imo State Police Command headquarters in Owerri and burnt vehicles in the headquarters

Dennis Amachree said, “There was enough intelligence, enough action. Actionable in the sense that it allows for space for people to execute it; one week ahead of the event and of course 72 hours before the event and then 48 hours before the event”.

So, there times, the Nigeria Police Force was informed by the DSS that this is going to happen because some suspects that are geolocated around the area were found surveillance the prison and the police headquarters but you know in our lackadaisical way, when the intelligence came, they threw it by the side and when something happens, everybody runs around”.

He then stressed that the Imo Police knew that the attacks would happen

“All security reports are shared with the governor in a state first, then, it is shared with other sister agencies like the police, the military, if there is military installations there, all of them got this particular report. So, the governor is very much aware,” he said.

The ex-DSS director, however, said, “Apparently nothing was done (to forestall the attacks). You can see that the governor was referring to that particular report that it is not IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra).”

Amachree lamented, “Some people are just too lazy to do their jobs.”

He also faulted claims by the then Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were behind the attacks.

“He (Adamu) doesn’t have his fact right because I don’t see how he can identify them. You identify people by either arresting some of them or from what they say but there was no person that was arrested,” the ex-DSS director said, adding that the DSS was investigating the attacks and would identify who the attackers were.

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