DSS Bombards SERAP Office, Ransacking Offices For Unknown Items
The operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) have this morning bombarded Abuja office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) demanding to see directors of the agency without disclosing their mission or agenda.
In an encounter by FreedomOnline with officials of the organization, it was gathered that the operatives just stormed the SERAP’s office in gestapo manner and demanding to see the directors of the agency.
It was gathered that the failure of some of the staff met to give satisfactory answers to their demands made them to start “forcefully and unlawfully entering some of the offices, but their search yielded no positive results as none of the senior members of the organization were not around. Documents were ransacked and all sorts. ”
The source informed the FreedomOnline that “no invitation or letter was extended to the effect that the DSS would need to see any of the officials or even visiting the office.”
Meanwhile in a post shared on its X handle, SERAP revealed that the officers were demanding to meet with the group’s directors.
“Officers from Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) are currently unlawfully occupying SERAP’s Abuja office, seeking to meet with our directors.”
Sending a caution to the government of President Tinubu, the body stated, “President Tinubu must immediately instruct the SSS to stop the harassment, intimidation, and violation of Nigerians’ rights,” the post added.
As at the time of the publication of this story, our correspondent was informed that the operatives have since left the office.
Meanwhile, a barrage of condemnations have trailed the raid of SERAP’s office as well as the arrest of the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Joe Ajaero by the authorities.
A statement by Mallam Hamisu Santuraki of the National Coordinating Secretariat,United Action Front of Civil Society, UAFCS, frowns at the conduct of the operatives of the DSS, stating it is, “brash and indecent on the part of Nigerian security operatives and should be condemned by all Nigerians.”
According to the group, :”The United Action Front of Civil Society frowns strongly at the needless show of force by the Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS in abducting the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero in a gestapo manner at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on his way to attend the Conference of the Trade Union Congress, TUC in the United Kingdom, which is billed to commence today.
“We wish to state that the DSS has for no reason broken the civil and conventional practice earlier adopted by the police as touching security issues with well known high profile citizens and leaders of the people like the President of the NLC by by extending invitations to them rather than employing dehumanising tactics such as forceful abduction against them to embarrass and intimidate them like common criminals.
“As a matter of fact, Comrade Joe Ajaero is a huge Leader of both the Labour movement and the masses of Nigeria given his popular position as the President of the NLC and therefore deserves to be treated with profound decorum and courtesy. Consequently, security issues with him should be handled with due process and not with gestapo tactics displayed by security agents today to cause national chaos.
“For us in the organised civil society and pro democracy movement of Nigeria, the abduction of Ajaero today is brash and indecent on the part of Nigerian security operatives and should be condemned by all Nigerians. We therefore wish to unequivocally condemn this needless rascality employed by the DSS today against the President of the NLC which has already generated shockwaves through the length and breadth of the country and may lead to mass resistance and civil disobedience in the country if Ajaero is not released immediately by the State.
“Similarly, we condemn in strongest terms, the crude invasion of the office of the Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, a major civil society platform in Nigeria this Monday morning in Abuja for no stated reasons by the same Operatives of the State. The illegal operations of Nigerian Security Operatives without arrest and search warrants can only depict Nigeria as a panicky and drowning Police State trying to gag every civil and democratic voice in the country.
“Finally, We demand the immediate release of the NLC President and retreat from the office of SERAP to avoid undue collision with the Nigerian civil society. However, as a major Pillar of the Labour and Civil Society Front, LCSFront, we wish to call on our allies nationwide to immediately commence national consultations on how best to halt the growing police State in Nigeria as evidenced by the massive repression of civil and democracy space by State Agent in Nigeria.” It added.
