The human rights group, Amnesty International, on Thursday slammed the Department of State Services (DSS) for its invasion of the Abuja office of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

The CISLAC had confirmed the invasion via a statement signed by its Executive Director, Malam Auwal Musa, titled, ‘Intimidation and profiling of civil society groups during Yuletide’, which was addressed to DSS DG, Ibrahim Bichi.

Musa stated that there was no prior notice, invitation or pending request from the DSS before its office was invaded.

In its reaction, Amnesty via a post on Twitter, accused the DSS of a lack of respect for the rule of the law.

The rights group also said it was yet another sign of Nigerian authorities’ escalating clampdown on civil society organisations.

“Amnesty International is deeply concerned over the invasion of the office of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) by DSS operatives.

“It is shocking that a law enforcement agency acted without respect for the rule of law. This is yet another sign of Nigerian authorities’ escalating clampdown on civil society organisations.

“We condemn this brazen attempt by the DSS to intimidate CISLAC, which has consistently exposed corruption and demanded accountability.

“Nigerian authorities must end this dangerous trend of using agencies like the DSS to silence its critics and target human rights defenders,” Amnesty said.