Department of State Services (DSS) has denied reports that it arrested or detained novelist and journalist Okey Ndibe at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Monday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications Favour Dozie, the agency said its interaction with Mr Ndibe was part of a process to review and remove individuals from its watchlist.
According to the DSS, Ndibe was not arrested on arrival but was engaged as part of an ongoing review of old watch-list actions initiated by the agency’s Director-General Adeola Ajayi.
The DSS said some of the watch-list actions date back to the military era and are being reviewed to prevent citizens from facing unnecessary difficulties during travel.
“The current DG of the service, upon assumption of duty, directed a review of old Watch-List Actions (WLAs), some of which date back to the military era. This is to ensure that citizens are not unduly embarrassed due to pre-existing WLAs,” the statement said.
The agency explained that individuals previously placed on the watchlist are routinely interviewed as part of the process leading to the review, downgrade and eventual removal of their names.
It disclosed that Ndibe had been on its watchlist since January 29, 2013, but that his case had already been reviewed and downgraded.
According to the DSS, the airport interaction was aimed at completing the process of removing his name from the list.
“As part of the routine interface involved in the process, after barely an hour of his interaction with the service, he was cleared and escorted,” the statement added.
The agency also referred to a Facebook post by Ndibe in which he said the officers who interacted with him were courteous.
Following his release on Monday, Ndibe thanked friends and associates who expressed concern over the incident.
“I’d like to confirm that I’ve been released,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The two DSS officials who interacted with me were quite courteous throughout the three+ hours of my detention.”
Reports on Monday had indicated that Ndibe was detained by DSS operatives shortly after arriving from the United States, drawing reactions from lawyer Abdul Mahmud, activist Omoyele Sowore and other public figures.
The DSS maintained that the encounter was part of a routine administrative process and encouraged individuals who believe they may be affected by watchlist actions to contact its headquarters for review.
Okey Ndibe, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has previously had encounters with security agencies at Nigerian airports. He has said in the past that he had been on a security watchlist since 2008.
