The Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed visiting the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Abuja.
SERAP had raised concerns over what it termed the “unlawful occupation” of its office and called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by directing the DSS to cease the “harassment, intimidation, and attack on the rights of Nigerians.”
In a statement posted on Monday, SERAP said, “Officers from Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) are presently unlawfully occupying SERAP’s office in Abuja, asking to see our directors. President Tinubu must immediately direct the SSS to end the harassment, intimidation, and attack on the rights of Nigerians.”
Responding on Tuesday, the DSS refuted SERAP’s claims, stating that its personnel were conducting a routine investigation and that the group’s description of events was “inaccurate and misleading.”
“The Department of State Services (DSS) has been inundated with multiple enquiries regarding 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 record, a team of two (2) unarmed Service operatives were lawfully detailed on routine investigation to SERAP’s office in Abuja. Unfortunately, this has been skewed and misinterpreted as unlawful harassment and intimidation of SERAP officials.”
The DSS clarified that such investigations are part of routine procedures and should not be viewed as illegal or aggressive. “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.”
In addition, the DSS called for public cooperation in matters of national security, assuring that an in-depth investigation of the situation would be conducted. “While it assures an 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 DSS’s visit to SERAP’s office occurred shortly after the organisation requested that President Tinubu direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to reverse the recent increase in petrol prices and to launch a thorough investigation into alleged corruption and mismanagement within the NNPCL.