The Department of State Service, DSS, has debunked the allegations that its operatives raided the headquarters of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, in Abuja.
Recall that the labour union had in a NLC on Wednesday, claimed that operatives of the DSS had invaded their office and carted away some documents at about 8:30 pm.
A statement by Benson Upah, the NLC’s head of Media and Public Relations, read: “The security operatives, some from the Nigeria Police Force, some wearing black tee-shirts presumably from the. Department of State Services (DSS), and others on outright mufti swooped on the 10th Floor of the NLC and arrested the security operative on duty and then commandeered him to the second floor where he was asked to produce the keys to the offices.
“When he told them that he had no such keys on him, they broke into the floor and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor, carting away hundreds of books and other publications. The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the#EndBadGoveranance Protests.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress condemns in its entirety this new low in security operations in Nigeria. The armed security operatives showed no legal document permitting them to invade the premises of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the ungodly hours of the night.
“Even in the dark days of military rule, NLC secretariats were never invaded and ransacked by security agents. Today is indeed a very sad day for our democracy.”
However, in a rebuttal on Thursday, by Peter Afunanya, the DSS spokesperson, the secret police denied involvement in the alleged invasion of the labour office.
In a short message on the agency’s X handle, Afunanya posted: “Pls kindly note that the Service (DSS) did not carry out any operation at the NLC office in Abuja.”
