The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a N5.5 billion defamation lawsuit against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for allegedly making false accusations that DSS officials unlawfully invaded SERAP’s Abuja office. This legal battle underscores growing tensions between government agencies and civil society groups over issues of accountability and transparency.<\/p>\n
The defamation suit, filed in the names of two DSS officials\u2014Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele\u2014claims that SERAP\u2019s allegations have severely damaged the reputation of both the agency and the individuals involved. According to the DSS, SERAP\u2019s public assertions that DSS officers forcefully entered and occupied its premises were untrue, and the spread of this misinformation has led to significant backlash.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, registered on October 17 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under case number CV\/4547\/2024, is being spearheaded by DSS\u2019 legal team led by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN). SERAP and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, are listed as defendants.<\/p>\n
The DSS explained that its engagement with SERAP was routine. As part of its practice of reaching out to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the FCT, the DSS sought to establish contact with the new leadership of SERAP. To this end, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele were instructed to visit SERAP’s office at 18 Bamako Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja, on September 9, 2024.<\/p>\n
The DSS maintains that the visit was amicable, with the two officials meeting a staff member named Ruth, who confirmed that none of SERAP\u2019s management was available at the time. Ruth reportedly advised the officials to send a formal letter of invitation, which the DSS claims they agreed to. The entire interaction was recorded, and Ruth provided a contact number before the DSS officers left the premises.<\/p>\n
However, shortly after the visit, SERAP made a post on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, @SERAPNigeria, alleging that DSS officials were unlawfully occupying its office. SERAP also released a public statement claiming that DSS agents, described as “a tall, large, dark-skinned woman” and “a slim, dark-skinned man,” had stormed their office and interrogated their staff. These claims, the DSS insists, are entirely false.<\/p>\n
The DSS argues that SERAP\u2019s false accusations have led to widespread public condemnation. The statement prompted reactions from international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and prominent Nigerian figures such as Femi Falana (SAN), who criticized the alleged DSS actions. According to the DSS, these reactions have cast the agency in a negative light, portraying it as a tool of intimidation used by the Federal Government to stifle civil society.<\/p>\n
The claimants further assert that the defamatory statements have tarnished their professional reputations within the DSS. As a result, they have faced internal investigations, been subjected to disciplinary panels, and are currently suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing inquiry. The DSS claims that SERAP’s actions have led their colleagues and superiors to question their competence and professionalism.<\/p>\n
In its lawsuit, the DSS is demanding several remedies from SERAP and its Deputy Director. These include:<\/p>\n
The DSS is seeking a court order directing SERAP to issue a formal apology through its website, X handle, two national newspapers (Punch and Vanguard), and two television stations (Arise Television and Channels Television).<\/p>\n
The agency is also seeking N5 billion in damages for the harm caused by SERAP\u2019s defamatory statements.<\/p>\n
An additional N50 million is being sought as reimbursement for the cost of the legal action.<\/p>\n
The DSS requests interest on the N5 billion sum at a rate of 10 percent per annum from the date of judgment until the payment is fully settled.<\/p>\n
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The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a N5.5 billion defamation lawsuit against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for allegedly making false accusations that DSS officials unlawfully invaded SERAP’s Abuja office. This legal battle underscores growing tensions between government agencies and civil society groups over issues of accountability and transparency. The defamation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-52697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52698,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52697\/revisions\/52698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}