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‘DSS siege on our Lagos office shocking’ – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday described as a “siege”, the presence of operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at its Lagos State office.

EFCC, in a statement its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said, “This development is strange to the Commission given that we have cohabited with the DSS in that facility for 20 years without incident”.

Earlier, it was reported that DSS operatives stormed the EFCC office located at 15 Awolowo Road in the Ikoyi area of the state, barring EFCC officials from entering the premises

Meanwhile, the DSS, had earlier in a statement by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya said is not correct that the secret police barricaded EFCC from entering its office.

“The Service is only occupying its facility where it is carrying out its official and statutory responsibility,” Afunanya said.

But, the anti-graft agency, while maintaining silence on the ownership of the building, condemned the action of the DSS, describing it as shocking. The EFCC further noted that the Commission had cohabited with the DSS in the same facility for 20 years without any fracas.

“By denying operatives access to their offices, the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of exhibits, and many suspects in detention have been disrupted.

“Cases scheduled for a court hearing today have been aborted, while many suspects who had been invited for questioning are left unattended. Even more alarming is that suspects in detention are left without care with grave implications for their rights as inmates.

“All of these have wider implications for the nation’s fight against economic and financial crimes.

“The siege is inconsistent with the synergy expected of agencies working for the same government and nation, especially when there are ongoing discussions on the matter”, the statement added.

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