SSS RAIDS COMPUTER VILLAGE OVER MISSING INEC DDC MACHINES

Detectives from the State Security Service (SSS) have stormed the famous computer village located at Ikeja area of Lagos over stolen materials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos office of the commission INEC Lagos office declared, shortly after the April general elections, that some materials, such as Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines and other election related materials used during the nation's elections were missing.

The SSS operatives, it was gathered, have been, for the past one-week, carrying out intensive raid of some suspected stores and shops in the market believed to be having the missing items in stocks.

Sources at the computer village told Saturday Sun that the men of SSS have been carrying out the raid from one store to another in search of the INEC stolen materials without molesting innocent customers and storeowners.

The source said association leaders in the market and other store owners have been cooperating with the SSS operatives since they stormed the area a week ago, disclosing that the operatives were able to receive some hard discs believed to be stolen one from INEC office.

Owing to the recovery of some discs, it was learnt, security operatives embarked on rigorous raiding of some stores believed to have been engaged in buying and selling of stolen items.

It was learnt that the operatives would have recovered the stolen DDC machines at the village if they had struck around July and August when those materials were on display in some shops

The source said that some stores had those stolen materials in stock around July and August, adding that the materials had suddenly disappeared from the market. They said that it 'is either they have disposed the materials or they moved them out of the market, but the fact remains that those items flooded the market around July and August.'

It was also gathered that the SSS detectives acted on tip off before storming the market to raid some stores suspecting to be in possession of the stolen materials because their raid was limited to some targeted stores, while other stores were left out of the raid

Most of the leaders in the markets, who pleaded anonymity, stated that if the SSS were at the markets a few months earlier, they would have recovered those stolen items easily.

They, however, pledged to assist the operatives in future so as to apprehend the sellers and buyers of stolen government property.