- Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) claimed the Department of State Services (DSS) ransacked its headquarters, removed some documents
- Department of State Services however denied the act of raiding and removing documents at the Nigerian Labour Congress’s headquarters
- Nigerian Labour Congress reported, condemned the act, and ordered employees to stay out of the office
This was disclosed by a statement made by Dr Peter Afunanya, a spokesperson of the DSS in response to the NLC's claims made on Wednesday, August 7, which alleged that the DSS raided their office and removed specific documents.
The statement read, “Good morning dear friends. Please, kindly note that the Service (DSS) did not carry out any operation at the NLC office in Abuja,” Peter Afunanya stated.
NLC claimed DSS ransacked HQ, removed some documents
According to the union, the operatives reached the Labour House at about 8:30 PM on Wednesday, August 7.
The NLC head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah, said, “The security operatives, some from the Nigeria Police Force, some wearing black tee-shirts presumably from the Department of State Services (DSS), and others on outright mufti swooped on the 10th Floor of the NLC and arrested the security operative on duty and then commandeered him to the second floor where he was asked to produce the keys to the offices,”
“When he told them that he had no such keys on him, they broke into the floor and ransacked the bookshop on the 2nd floor, carting away hundreds of books and other publications. The invading troop claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the#EndBadGoveranance Protests,” Benson Upah stated.
NLC labels incident as threat to Nigeria’s democracy
NLC condemned the act, labelling the incident as a threat to the nation's democracy.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress condemns in its entirety this new low in security operations in Nigeria. The armed security operatives showed no legal document permitting them to invade the premises of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the ungodly hours of the night,”
“Even in the dark days of military rule, NLC secretariats were never invaded and ransacked by security agents. Today is indeed a very sad day for our democracy,” the NLC’s head of Media and Public Relations stated.
Benson Upah said the NLC is still in shock and had ordered all employees to stay out of the office.
“We are still shocked by the invasion. First, all staff of the Congress stayed away from the office as directed by the leadership. We cannot yet fathom the reason or reasons for the invasion,”
“Since last night, we have been receiving calls from across the globe, including our affiliates to express their disbelief and outrage over the invasion. They said not even under military dictatorship did such a thing happen,”
“We understand that the Department of State Services, DSS, has denied involvement. Who did it, alongside the uniformed policemen that invaded and ransacked the Labour House? We are in dangerous times in Nigeria. From what is happening, everybody is threatened. This is all I can say for now,” the NLC head of Media and Public Relations, Benson Upah stated.
#EndBadGovernance: DSS arrests protest leader in Abuja
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that DSS arrested Lenin, the National Coordinator for the Youth Rights Campaign at his residence in Abuja.
Lenin took part in a press briefing with other organisers, where they voiced their displeasure with Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast. He was reportedly assaulted during the arrest.