A former Assistant Director of the Department (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says the DSS informed the Nigeria Police three times within a week about the impending attacks on the state Police Command and the federal correctional centre, but refused to yield to the warning.
Gunmen had on Monday attacked the state Police Command and the federal prison in Owerri and freed over 1,844 inmates.
He said: “There is enough intelligence, enough actionable intelligence. Actionable in the sense that it allows for space for people to execute it. One week ahead of this particular event, of course, 72 hours before the event and then of course 48 hours before the event,” he said.
“Three times the Nigeria police was informed by the DSS that this is going to happen. Some suspects that are being relocated around the area were found surveilling the prisons and the police headquarters.
“But you know in our lackadaisical way when the intelligence will come they throw it by the side and then of course when something happens, everybody runs around.