The Department of State Services (DSS) has revealed why its officers visited the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s Abuja office on Monday.
In a statement on its website on Tuesday, the secret service explained that contrary to reports that its officers raided SERAP’s office, the agents were detailed for routine investigation.
According to the DSS, the officers’ actions had been misinterpreted as harassment and intimidation.
“The Department of State Services has been inundated with multiple enquiries on its alleged unlawful invasion of SERAP offices in Abuja and Lagos.
“This narrative is inaccurate and misleading in its intent. For the records, a team of two unarmed Service operatives were lawfully detailed on a routine investigation to the SERAP office in Abuja, which has sadly been skewed and misinterpreted as unlawful, harassment, and intimidation of SERAP officials.
“The Service further wishes to state that such official enquiries and liaison are traditional and do not in any way amount to illegality or raid.
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“While it assures of in-depth investigation of these malicious contents, it sues for citizens’ participation in national security management.
“The DSS, therefore, urges the public to disregard these false narratives as it restates its commitment to utmost professionalism in the discharge of its core mandate,” the statement read.
Recall that following the invasion SERAP urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “to immediately direct Nigeria’s DSS to end the intimidation and harassment and attack against our organisation and the threat of arrest against our directors.
“The invasion of SERAP’s office by the DSS and the harassment and intimidation of our staff members is a brutal assault on the entire human rights community in the country,
“President Tinubu must urgently instruct appropriate authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate the invasion of our offices and to bring to justice those involved.
“Nigerian authorities must allow SERAP to freely carry out our mandates as recognized under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party,” the rights project had said.
