Officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are unable to enter their office in Ikoyi, Lagos, as a result of Department of State Security agents storming the location.
The DSS and the EFCC have been at odds about ownership of the premises, according to reliable sources in both agencies who spoke to The Punch.
According to reports, DSS agents stormed the office on Tuesday at around 7:00 p.m. and refused to leave despite negotiations between agents from both agencies. A reliable source confirmed the event over the phone.
According to Punch, an official of the EFCC who revealed on the condition of anonymity, said, “There’s been a running battle between us and the DSS over who owns the office because the office was used by them before the EFCC came on board and it was handed over to us.
“But it’s been an administrative issue, and the matter is not in court and hasn’t caused any fracas before now. But we don’t understand why they have to block our office and deny our officials access when a new government just came in.”
“The office used to be ours, and we have been fighting over it for years now, and the EFCC knows,” a DSS source said.
Meanwhile, spokespersons for both agencies, Wilson Uwujare of the EFCC, and Dr Peter Afunaya of the DSS did not respond to inquiries by Punch over the development.