The Department of State Services (DSS) has issued a statement explaining the purpose of its visit to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s (SERAP) Abuja office on Monday.

SaharaReporters reported on Monday that lawless personnel of Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), stormed the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Abuja.

The civic group which disclosed this in a post on Monday morning, had said the DSS officials kept asking for its directors, indicating that they came to arrest them.

SERAP, a leading human rights organization, has been vocal in its criticism of the Nigerian government’s human rights record and has filed several lawsuits against the government on behalf of victims of human rights abuses.
But in a statement on Tuesday published on its website, service said that contrary to reports of a raid, it claimed that their officers were conducting a routine investigation.

The secret police denied allegations of harassment and intimidation, stating that their actions had been misinterpreted.

The DSS emphasised that their visit was a standard procedural matter, aiming to clear up any misconceptions surrounding the incident.

According to DSS, “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.

“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.”