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Swiss election monitoring group honours Bichi, DG DSS


An election monitoring group, International Human Rights Commission, Geneva, Switzerland, has honoured the director-general of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi with an award.
The award was presented to Bichi by a member of the group, Reverend Solomon Semaka, its alternate chair, when he visited Bichi at national headquarters of the secret service in Abuja on Tuesday.
Semaka chairs the Committee on Civil/Military Affairs (Nigeria) of the Commission.
Semaka said the award was in recognition of the exemplary performance by the Service and its personnel during the just concluded 2019 general elections.
He praised DSS operatives for their professional conduct and appreciable respect for human rights in the course of discharging election duties. It also expressed satisfaction with the neutrality of the organisation during the elections.
It described Bichi’s leadership style as worthy of emulation and urged him to advance other platforms that will further promote international protocols on human and civil rights of citizens.
Bichi expressed gratitude to the group for appreciating the efforts and contributions of the Service and promised to sustain the spirit.
He stated that he is committed to the rights of citizens and endeavours to strike a balance with state security.
He explained that the DSS has internal control systems to ensure that its staff adhere strictly to code of conduct, rule of engagement and Standard Operation Procedures in enforcement actions.
He further disclosed that the Service had long established Human Rights Desks and created the Public Relations unit for ease of public access and communication.
He pledged to maintain the standards in line with domestic and international laws on human rights.