The publisher of 234sportsng.com, Mr Olukayode Abimbola Thomas has disclosed that he got a call at about 4.49 pm (Lagos time) on Friday, 9 September, from a man with telephone number +2347063249244 who claimed to be an operative of Department of State Service (DSS), ordering him to report at the DSS office in Ilorin, Kwara State on Monday.
He said the caller did not identify himself.
The self-claimed operative did not state whether Thomas is a security risk or why he needed to report at Ilorin even as he lives and works in Lagos.
A shocked and surprised Thomas said he told the man, who claimed to be a DSS operative, that he is probably not a DSS operative as he expected a genuine officer to act with finesse.
But the man, insisting he is an operative of the secret service, said Thomas must be in Ilorin on Monday by whatever means.
Thomas said he told the man on the phone that, in these days of insecurity, anybody can claim to be a DSS operative and lure unsuspecting people to be kidnapped or for any other reason.
The journalist also told the man on the phone that the proper way would way have been for the DSS to send a letter inviting him to Ilorin at a date to be agreed between the two parties, which would give him enough time to brief his lawyer.
But the man on the phone kept insisting that all he wanted was for his order to be obeyed and that Thomas must be in Ilorin by Monday.
When Thomas explained that what was happening was akin to a threat to his life by an impersonator claiming to be a DSS operative on phone, and that he would alert the public through the media about a threat to his security and that of his family, the man told Thomas to go ahead and write what transpired between them in the media.
After the conversation, Truecaller revealed his identity to be one Janguza Salisu Hamisu.
Reporters familiar with the operation of DSS said that the agency would not summon anybody without a proper letter of invitation.
“They will inform you through the phone and follow up with a letter to your physical address and, if you are outside their base, in this case, Kwara State, they will contact you through the Director of the State you reside with a letter to your physical address, not just a phone call”, a journalist said on condition of anonymity.
Thomas said he is using the media to alert Nigerians that if anything happens to him and his family a man who claimed to be a DSS operative with telephone number +2347063249244 whose identity was revealed by Truecaller as Janguza Salisu Hamisu should be held responsible.
