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Last week’s invasion of Akwa Ibom State Government House by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) has been described as part of a grand plot to assassinate Governor Emmanuel Udom, according to members of Akwa Ibom State caucus in the House of Representatives.

Leader of the House caucus, Hon. Emmanuel Ekon‎ who briefed journalists yesterday in Abuja, challenged the leadership of the DSS to make public, details of what it recovered during the raid.

The Abak/Etim Ekpo, Ika Federal Constituency representative threatened that the caucus would explore legal options in the event that the DSS fails to make public their findings. He said the recent attack on a state under the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was designed to silence ethnic minorities in the country, especially those from the South-south region.

“You will recall that a couple of months ago, the DSS started harassing state Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. The DSS is harassing them so that they can fabricate evidence against elected officers in both states. The elections tribunals of these states are crumbling because of their activities.

“Now, as if that is not enough, residents of these states are no longer guaranteed of their safety. It has progressed up to the point that last week, the constitutionally elected governor of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom was violated by the political tool called DSS. They invaded the Government House in Uyo without a search warrant.

“Before you carry out a search, you must have a search warrant. They are supposed to have two neutral people to observe. In this case, none of those provisions were observed. The DSS broke in forcefully and carried out their illegal operation,” Ekon lamented

Speaking specifically on alleged plot to kill the governor, Ekon said: “As a person, I am tempted to believe that the DSS went there to kill the governor of Akwa Ibom State and then lay the blame on unknown gunmen after the operation. As a citizen of this country, I am calling on all democrats to rise up to the occasion. We have never had it this bad.

“The rights of the ethnic minorities have been violated. This government is trying to tell us that ethnic minorities have no rights to vote. They have been declared an endangered species. I want the DSS to make public details of what they recovered during the search. There are rumours that bombs and other things were discovered. They should tell us what they found.”

He called on Nigerians to rise up to the occasion and defend the country’s democracy, saying that activities of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are a threat to democracy.

It would be recalled that the governor of the state was not at his raided official residence when the operatives of the DSS broke into the residence to carry out their search. There were indications that they were tipped off by certain members of the public about arms being stockpiled in the government house.