CISLAC condemns DSS siege on Abuja office, demands investigation

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned Monday’s invasion of its headquarters in Abuja by Department of State Services (DSS) operatives.

Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in a letter to DSS Director-General, Yusuf Bichi, called for an immediate investigation.

Rafsanjani is the Chairman of Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), the civil society election observation body with 400 member- organizations.

The activist demanded an end to the trend of shrinking the civic space to which the civil society community represents.

Rafsanjani lamented how the DSS stormed CISLAC head office in Utako without prior notice or official warrant.

He said the officers, in a gestapo style, asked to see the Chief Security Officer of the building on a day declared as a public holiday by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“This thought was further reinforced by the fact that there was no prior notice, invitation, or a pending request from your office regarding any of such visits”, the letter read.

Rafsanjani noted that the unlawful action attests to the fears that the country is snowballing into autocracy with the regular abuse of powers by agents of the state.

“As an organization, we believe in the rule of law. We have complied with all statutes and thereby have not violated any law”, he added.

Rafsanjani urged Bichi to stop the attempt to weaken democratic institutions and ensure that the DSS operates within the confines of the law at all times.