The Department of State Services, DSS, has said its visit to the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, Abuja office on Monday was legal.
The agency said in a statement on its website the visit was made in the course routine investigation, which is being misconstrued 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,” the statement read.
“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.
“While it assures 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.”
Recall that SERAP had in a statement by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, condemned the invasion of their Abuja office and urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately “direct the DSS to end the intimidation and harassment of SERAP and our staff members.”
The statement added: “Nigerian authorities must allow SERAP to freely carry out our mandates as recognised 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.”