The Department of State Services (DSS) has clarified that its officers’ visit to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s (SERAP) Abuja office on Monday was lawful and not a harassment or intimidation.

In a statement on its website, the DSS explained that the visit was a routine investigation and not a raid as widely reported.

According to the secret service, “The Department of State Services has been inundated with multiple enquiries on its alleged unlawful invasion of SERAP offices in Abuja and Lagos.

“This narrative is inaccurate and misleading in its intent. The DSS insisted that the officers’ actions were misinterpreted and that such official enquiries and liaison are traditional and do not amount to illegality or raid.

It further stressed, “The agency assured that it would investigate the malicious contents and urged citizens to participate in national security management”.

SERAP and some well-meaning Nigerians had earlier condemned the invasion of its Abuja office by the DSS and urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the DSS to end the intimidation and harassment of its officials.