Full-Blown Dictatorship Activated as SSS Lays Siege at SERAP’s Office

In a troubling development, officers from Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) have unlawfully occupied the headquarters of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Abuja. According to a post on SERAP’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the officers are demanding to see the organization’s directors.

The post reads: “Officers from Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) are presently unlawfully occupying SERAP’s office in Abuja, asking to see our directors. President Tinubu must immediately direct the SSS to end the harassment, intimidation, and attack on the rights of Nigerians.”

This action comes less than two hours after the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajaero at Abuja Airport. The sequence of events has intensified concerns about the state of democracy in Nigeria, suggesting a shift towards authoritarianism.

Since President Bola Tinubu took office, there has been a marked increase in the harassment and arrest of activists, journalists, and labor leaders. Reports indicate a pattern of brutalization and incarceration, raising serious questions about the state of civil liberties under the current administration.