The Department of State Services (DSS) has firmly denied reports that its agents carried out a raid on the headquarters of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, dismissing the accusations as baseless.
On Wednesday night, reports surfaced claiming that armed men, alleged to be DSS operatives, forcefully entered the NLC office around 8:30 p.m. and seized several important documents.
According to the NLC, the men broke into the Labour House and specifically targeted the bookshop located on the second floor of the building.
Benson Upah, the NLC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, confirmed the incident, stating that hundreds of books and publications were taken by the intruders. He mentioned that the assailants claimed they were searching for “seditious materials allegedly used during the #EndBadGovernance protests.”
Despite the NLC’s concerns, the organization has not yet determined the full extent of what was taken during the raid. The incident has raised alarm among the NLC leadership, who view it as a severe breach of their rights and an illegal intrusion into their premises.
In response to these allegations, DSS Spokesperson Peter Afunanya issued a brief statement on Thursday morning, emphatically denying the agency’s involvement. “Good morning dear friends. Please note that the Service (DSS) did not carry out any operation at the NLC office in Abuja,” Afunanya stated.
The NLC, on its part, has expressed outrage over the incident, condemning what it describes as an unlawful invasion by armed security operatives. In a statement, the NLC asserted, “The Nigeria Labour Congress condemns in its entirety this new low in security operations in Nigeria.”
“The armed security operatives showed no legal documents permitting them to invade the premises of the Nigeria Labour Congress at the ungodly hour of the night,” the NLC said in a statement.
