The Department of State Services (DSS) has firmly denied claims that its operatives were involved in the recent arrest of Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC).
These denials were made in response to viral reports circulating in some media outlets, which alleged that the secret police were behind Sowore’s brief detention at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos on Sunday.
A senior official within the DSS, who spoke to newsmen on Sunday, clarified that the agency had no involvement in Sowore’s arrest. “I want to state categorically that our officers were not involved in his arrest, so Nigerians should discard the fake news of the DSS’ involvement,” the officer emphasized.
The official also disclosed that while Sowore’s name had previously appeared on the DSS watchlist, it had been removed.
“What I can tell you is that the name of the man in question was on our watchlist before, but we had since removed it. Our new Director General is determined to reform and reposition the Department of State Service (DSS) as a responsible and responsive organization,” the source added.
The clarifications follow an earlier report that Sowore was allegedly arrested by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) upon his arrival from the United States.
Sowore, a well-known activist and politician, revealed on his social media platform that his passport was seized upon reaching immigration.
“I had just arrived in Nigeria from the USA at MMIA in Lagos; upon reaching Nigerian Immigration, my passport was seized, and they told me they had orders to detain me,” Sowore wrote.
He later updated his followers, announcing his release by immigration officials, stating, “I have just been released by the Nigerian Immigration after a brief detention and my passport released back to me.”
Despite the numerous reports linking the DSS to the incident, the security agency insists it had no part in the matter. “Our officers had no hand in this, and we urge Nigerians to disregard any reports suggesting otherwise,” the senior official reiterated.
Attempts to obtain an official statement from the DSS proved unsuccessful, as multiple calls to the service’s official contact number went unanswered.
Additionally, an email inquiry sent to their official address had not received a response as of the time of this report.
