The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to order the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately stop the intimidation, harassment, and threats against its organization and directors.
This appeal follows a raid on SERAP’s Abuja office by DSS officers, including a large, dark-skinned woman and a slim man, accompanied by others stationed in unmarked vehicles outside the premises.
The officers demanded to speak with the organization’s directors.
The raid came after SERAP‘s public call for President Tinubu to instruct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to reverse what they described as an unconstitutional fuel price hike and investigate alleged corruption within the company.
In a statement, SERAP’s deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare condemned the invasion, urging the Tinubu administration to immediately halt the DSS’s actions against the group.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana also criticized the raid, calling for the officers involved to be identified and prosecuted.
SERAP emphasized that the DSS’ invasion is a direct attack on the broader human rights community and warned that ongoing harassment of NGOs and defenders undermines justice for victims of human rights violations.
The organization demanded that the government protect civil society groups and ensure they can operate freely under Nigerian and international law.
SERAP has vowed to take legal action if the government fails to stop the intimidation and harassment, insisting that civil society voices must not be silenced.
The group urged the presidency to take a stand against the attacks on human rights defenders, reiterating that the right to seek redress for violations must be protected under the law.
