Although officials of the DSS were not forthcoming on the incident last night, sources said that the operatives stormed the Aso Drive, Abuja residence of Saba in the early hours of yesterday. Top officials of the CCB were also not forthcoming on the matter, but our reporter learnt that DSS operatives conducted a thorough search on Saba’s home. Our reporter learnt that the search of Saba’s house may not be unconnected with allegations that funds meant for the completion of the CCB permanent head office were diverted under his lead­ership. The DSS’ action was also linked to petitions from sev­eral quarters against Saba’s management style and the CCB Board. When our reporter contacted the Special Assistant to the CCB Chairman, Mr. S.P. Gwimi, on the DSS’ invasion of Saba’s home, he said that he was not aware of it because he had been out of Abuja. Gwimi, who said that he was just entering the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), asked our correspondent to call back after an hour. When a call was put to his phone after an hour, Gwimi did not pick the call. He also declined to respond to a text message sent to him. Similarly, a top official of the agency, who sought ano­nymity, said that he was not aware of the development. But sources said that that the search on Saba’s house may not be unconnected with his handling of cases referred to the agency. Before the DSS’ search, Saba had been having a running battle with some top personnel of the bureau over the way he reportedly runs the affairs of the CCB. Recently, a top official, who was sacked over a year ago by the board on alleged corruption charges, petitioned the bureau over the termination of his appointment. In the petition, the offi­cial had claimed that Saba, in collaboration with his board members, allocated to themselves roles meant for core of­ficials of the bureau – in at­tempts to pervert the course of justice. Other aggrieved stakeholders within and outside the CCB have also accused Saba of diverting funds meant for the building of a permanent secretariat for the agency. The bu­reau still operates from a sec­tion of the building located in the complex housing the office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF). The CCB handles cases of politicians and public servants with false declaration of assets. Another source claimed that the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Dr Buko­la Saraki, also prompted the raid on Saba’s house. The source claimed that the Federal Government was un­happy with the shoddy man­ner the bureau handled the case of Saraki’s alleged false declaration of assets. The source said that it was against this backdrop that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took over the prosecution of Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). There is also the political angle to Saba’s ordeal. Some sources assert that the Federal Government is on a mission to weed him and his board members out of office because they are perceived to be People’s Democratic Party (PDP) supporters, having been appointed into office by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.]]>