By Tonia Okereke
The Department of State Services (DSS) has threatened legal action against Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Channels Television for allegedly broadcasting false and malicious reports about the role the agency played in resolving the recent crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
According to the secret police, both stations misrepresented the agency’s intervention on Monday, when concerns arose over the possible forceful return of former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
Frontline News Online reports that the acting Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly invited the DSS to reinforce security amid fears of a potential breakdown of law and order. However, both television stations reported that the DSS had “stormed” or “invaded” the Assembly—a characterisation the agency has rejected strongly.
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According to Chief Ayodeji Adedipe, the DSS’s legal representative, the agency’s role was purely to support existing security forces, and it did not engage in any unlawful activities.
In letters dated February 17, 2025, the DSS demanded an immediate retraction of the reports and a public apology to be broadcast across all platforms for three consecutive days. The agency asserted that the reports damaged its reputation by portraying it as reckless and unprofessional.
The DSS warned that failure to comply within seven days would prompt civil and criminal legal actions against the stations under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.
“Our client, in fulfilling its statutory mandate of intelligence gathering for good governance and national security, was invited by the acting Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly to support security operatives from February 16, 2025. This followed concerns that former Speaker Rt. Hon. Obasa planned to resume office on February 18, 2025, a move perceived as a security threat”, the letter read.
The DSS criticized the stations for failing to verify the facts before broadcasting the allegation that the agency had invaded the assembly to prevent members and the Speaker from accessing the chamber.
“This portrayal of our client as a Gestapo-like force supporting one of the feuding parties is false and defamatory,” the DSS further stated.
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