Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Two federal agencies, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Tuesday engaged in claim and counter claim over the ownership of the office complex located at 15, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, where the EFCC operates from.
There were reports early Tuesday that the DSS prevented officials of the anti-graft agency from gaining access to their office in Ikoyi.
It was gathered that DSS blocked the whole building and placed an armoured personnel carrier at the front of the building.
“They even placed an armoured tank just to scare us away”, a source at the office said.
Both agencies are believed to be laying claim to the ownership of the building.
But a statement by DSS said the agency was only occupying its facility.
The statement by the Spokesman of DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, said “Awolowo Road was NSO headquarters. SSS/DSS started from there. It is a common knowledge. It is a historical fact. Check it out.
“There is no rivalry between the service and the EFCC over and about anything”, it said.
But the EFCC countered the claim and confirmed that DSS deployed Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) blocking staff of the commission from gaining access to the building.
A statement by the Spokesman of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, said by so doing the DSS hampered its operations.
“The operatives of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrived at their office on No. 15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, this morning, May 30, 2023, to be denied entry by agents of the Department of State Services, DSS, who had barricaded the entrance with armoured personnel carriers.
“This development is strange to the commission given that we have cohabited with the DSS in that facility for 20 years without incident”, he said.
