The Department of State Services (DSS) says the plot to set aside the constitution and install an interim government by “misguided” political actors is real. DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, in a statement on Wednesday, vowed that the secret police will use all arsenals at its disposal to frustrate such plot.

The department also said some key players in the plot for an interim government in Nigeria have been identified.

The DSS had on Saturday warned politicians to desist from peddling “hate speech” and all forms of “false narratives” to ignite violence or pit citizens against the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the incoming administration of the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu.

The warning followed a petition by the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo that the DSS invite the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi; and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, over their rejection of Tinubu as the President-Elect.

Both Atiku and Obi alleged electoral malpractices in the poll and are in court to challenge the declaration of Tinubu as President-Elect by INEC. In a follow-up statement on Wednesday, the DSS did not mention any politician but said some key players have been identified in the interim government plot.

The state department also said the plot being pursued by these “entrenched interests” is not only an aberration but a “mischievous way” to set aside the constitution and undermine civil rule, warning that such will plunge the country into an avoidable crisis. “The illegality is totally unacceptable in a democracy and to the peace loving Nigerians. This is even more so that the machination is taking place after the peaceful conduct of the elections in most parts of the country,” the statement partly read.