The Department of State Service (DSS) says investigations by the service revealed that there was an elaborate plan by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to inflate its membership data ahead of the February 2015 general elections.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, spokesperson for the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, says the party also had plans to hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voter register across the country.
She said a search conducted by the service at number 10 Ajibola street, Ikeja, Lagos in November, 2014 was backed by a search warrant as required by law.
“Investigations revealed that the property was being used for illegal voter registration exercise,” she said.
Ogar displayed pictures of persons alleged to have been registered illegally by the party, insisting that number 10 Ajibola Street never had a signboard, banner or flag indicating that the building was being used by a political party.
She also said one of the items discovered during the operation included a video on how to become a computer hacker.
“The video explains how to hack into the systems of media houses with the aim of broadcasting fake stories and headlines.
“We also found volumes of hard manuals on how to hack. that i will show to you later.
“It was also discovered that the APC registered underagged persons including several infants, babies, as members of their parties.
“This service and other security services know that Article 9 of the APC party’s constitution expressly says membership of the party shall be open to any citizen of Nigeria who has attained the age of 18 years and accepts the aims and objectives of the party,” she said.
The DSS claims are coming barely five weeks to the general elections.
In response to the allegations the All Progressives Congress dismissed the claims of the DSS, saying the claimed findings were “a great disservice to Nigeria and an embarrassment to all intelligence-gathering organisations around the world”.
In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the spokesman for the APC, Mr Lai Mohammed, the party alleged that the timing of the release of the findings was a plot orchestrated in collusion with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to distract the APC from its ongoing campaigns for next month’s elections.It described as “disingenuous, flimsy, premeditated, partisan and an irritant” the DSS premise that the APC had an “articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country”.
While the All Progressive Congress has filed a lawsuit to challenge the raid and arrest of its members, the DSS says those arrested at the building have been charged to court as further investigation continues.
