BUSINESS DAY
Nigerians have criticized the Department of State Service (DSS) for unlawfully occupying the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) office in Abuja and arresting Joe Ajaero, president of Nigeria’s Labour Congress.
The group demanded immediate action from President Tinubu to end harassment, intimidation, and attacks on Nigerians’ rights. The SSS’s actions have sparked social media protests, with human rights activists calling for an end to the attack on dissent and non-governmental groups expressing concerns about infringement on civil liberties.
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These events have riled up many Nigerians who have taken to social media demanding an end to the “unlawful arrest and intimidation” of civic groups and individuals who are holding the government accountable.
“The invasion of SERAP’s Abuja office by the SSS is unacceptable. President Tinubu’s regime must end the attack on dissent,” said Inibehe Effiong, a human rights activist and lawyer on X.
In another tweet, Seun Onigbinde, the co-founder of BudgIT, a civic-tech group, said with the recent clampdown on civic rights organizations, “every fringe actor in the political space will be emboldened to abuse public institutions for their personal gain.”
EiE Nigeria, a non-governmental group, said the actions by the SSS represents a troubling infringement on the freedoms and civil liberties of Nigerians.
“Upholding the constitutional rights of citizens, including the ability of organizations to operate freely, must be an absolute priority,” the group said on X.
Amnesty International Nigeria, a human rights group, has called on President Bola Tinubu to stop using state operatives to “gag dissenting voices” in the country.
The advocacy group said this in reaction to the invasion of the SERAP’s Abuja office by the operatives of the DSS.
“Amnesty International received a disturbing report of the unlawful invasion of the Abuja office of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by operatives of DSS.
