The Department of State Services, DSS, has pushed back against earlier reports alleging that renowned academic and writer, Prof Okey Ndibe, was arrested and detained at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, upon his arrival from the United States on Monday.
According to a source familiar with the development, Prof Ndibe was neither arrested nor detained by the security agency. Rather, he was said to have undergone routine questioning at the border control point in line with standard international procedures.
The source disclosed that Ndibe arrived in Nigeria at about 11:30 a.m. on June 1 and was engaged by DSS officials over a Watch-List Action, WLA, said to have been placed on him in 2013 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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However, the source explained that the watch-list status has since been downgraded by the current Director-General of the DSS Tosin Ajayi as part of an ongoing review of legacy WLAs inherited by the agency.
It was further gathered that the present DSS leadership had directed a reassessment of old watch-list cases, with the aim of clearing individuals whose cases no longer warrant continued surveillance restrictions. As part of that process, affected persons are being engaged to facilitate their final delisting, the source said.
In Prof Ndibe’s case, the source maintained that the interaction at the Lagos airport was purely procedural and should not be interpreted as an arrest or detention.
The source added that Ndibe completed the engagement and left the airport roughly 30 minutes later.
The clarification comes amid earlier reports suggesting that the literary scholar had been arrested and held by DSS operatives on arrival in the country.
Crediblenewsng.com
