Oddiri was abducted from his Lagos home on November 10 by operatives of the DSS, allegedly on the orders of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, following a petition the lawyer reportedly filed abroad accusing the EFCC boss of financial misconduct.
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has quietly moved detained human rights lawyer, Moses Oddiri, Esq., from its Lagos facility to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, without notifying his family, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Oddiri was abducted from his Lagos home on November 10 by operatives of the DSS, allegedly on the orders of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, following a petition the lawyer reportedly filed abroad accusing the EFCC boss of financial misconduct.
Family sources said the arrest occurred around 10pm, when armed DSS operatives stormed the residence, broke padlocks, and forced their way into Oddiri’s bedroom while his 17-year-old son and daughter watched in fear.
“They told Moses they were there to arrest him,” one family source said. “When he asked for their identification, they flashed an ID card briefly. His son also said he couldn’t see it properly, and the chief officer ordered one of his men to hit him. They assaulted the boy, handcuffed his father, and took him away.”
Oddiri was detained at the DSS facility in Lagos for 15 days without charge, family members told SaharaReporters.
According to his son, Solomon Oddiri, the family only learned from an inside source that the lawyer had been transferred to Abuja.
“I received information that my dad had been moved secretly from the DSS detention center in Lagos to Abuja,” he said.
“The DSS transferred my father without informing his family, and we now fear for his safety. He has still not been charged with any offence since his arrest on November 10.”
The family is demanding his immediate release on bail pending investigation or that he be charged to court if any offence exists.
Sources say Oddiri’s arrest is connected to a petition he submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in London, alleging that EFCC Chairman Olukoyede diverted community development funds belonging to the Orogun Oil Producing Community in Delta State, which Oddiri has represented for years.
“Moses has been fighting for a community that has suffered injustice for decades,” a source said.
Nigeria’s Secret Police Transfers Illegally Detained Lawyer Moses Oddiri To Abuja
