THE Department of State Services (DSS) has given reason for the visitation to the Abuja office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by some of its operatives.
In a statement on Tuesday, the DSS clarified that the officers were not conducting a raid, as some reports suggested, but were performing a routine investigation.
The DSS emphasized that the visit had been misconstrued as harassment and intimidation, asserting that the officers’ actions were part of standard procedural checks.
The statement read, “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 of 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 we assure of in-depth investigation of these malicious contents, we sue for citizens’ participation in national security management.
“We, therefore, urge the public to disregard these false narratives as it restates its commitment to utmost professionalism in the discharge of its core mandate.”
SERAP had yesterday alerted the world to an alleged invasion of its Abuja office by personnel of the secret police. The non-governmental organisation alleged that the personnel enquired about the directors of the organisation.
Eighteen-Eleven Media