Operatives of the Department of the State Service, DSS, are reportedly preventing officials of the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from gaining access to their office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Sources in both agencies told newsmen that there has been an ongoing rivalry between the DSS and the EFCC over the ownership of the building.
According to PUNCH’s correspondent, the DSS operatives stormed the office around 7:00 am on Tuesday, and refused to leave despite dialogue between operatives of both agencies, an impeccable source confirmed the development in a telephone interview.
An official of the EFCC who spoke with our correspondent 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 Uwujaren of the EFCC, and Dr Peter Afunaya of the DSS did not respond to inquiries over the development.
As of the time of writing this report, all the EFCC officials at the office on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, were prevented from accessing the building by DSS officials.
