The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticized the use of military-style tactics against critics of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
He expressed this view following the incursion by the Department of State Services (DSS) into the Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) office.
DSS operatives apprehended Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Ajaero was en route to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Conference in the United Kingdom, scheduled for the same day, before being released later.
Moreover, the clandestine security agency also raided the office of the civil society organization SERAP in Abuja.
Adebayo strongly condemned the DSS’s actions at the SERAP office, emphasizing that Nigeria must not return to the era of former military president, General Sani Abacha.
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On his official X handle, Adebayo wrote: “I am for law enforcement and the rule of law as a matter of instinct. The invasion of the offices of @SERAPNigeria by agents of the @OfficialDSSNG under the administration of @officialABAT calls for an immediate and clear explanation. What would Abacha do cannot be the new doctrine!” he said.
Various civil society groups have condemned the invasion of SERAP’s office by security agencies.
The DSS, in clarifying the reason for sending its operatives to SERAP offices in Lagos and Abuja on Monday, advised the public to ignore the inaccurate stories and reaffirmed its dedication to upholding professionalism in fulfilling its primary responsibilities.
According to the statement, “This narrative is inaccurate and misleading in its intent. For the records, a team of two unarmed Service operatives was 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 also mentioned that such official inquiries and liaison were customary and did not constitute any form of illegality or raid.
Additionally, they reassured of conducting a thorough investigation into the harmful contents and encouraged citizens to actively participate in national security management.
