The SSS says it is investigating the incident.
A Nigerian man has recounted how operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) allegedly arrested and assaulted him on allegation of being a terrorist.
The victim, Iniobong Archibong, told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident happened on 29 September in Abuja.
Mr Archibong hails from Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria. He resides in Abuja, the country's capital.
How it happened
Mr Archibong said he went to the Ethiopian embassy to pick up his visa in the morning on the said day.
But when he realised that the office was not open as at 9:10 a.m., he went back to the car which he boarded to the area.
He had planned to wait inside the car in order to check if there was a missed phone call or a new email because mobile phones were not allowed into the embassy.
Mr Archibong opened his mailbox and discovered that his colleague, Ann-Kelly, had requested an official document for their trip to Togo, a West African country.
He said when he picked his laptop to do a reply, three men on mufti, who identified themselves as operatives of the SSS, approached him.
One of the SSS operatives flashed his identity card, and quickly put it back in his pocket which did not allow him to pick the name of the operative, Mr Archibong said.
The SSS operatives ordered him to follow them to their office.
"On my insistence that I have the right to ask and know the offence I committed that warrants my arrest, they forcefully collected my official laptop and my phones, collected my laptop bag with the contents into their car, beat me up, forced me out of the car and held me on my pair of trousers, dragged me and throw me into a waiting Peugeot car with registration number: BWR 406 DE and drove me off," Mr Archibong narrated.
Following an enquiry by his driver, identified simply as Mr Idowu, the SSS operatives said they were taking him to their office in the Asokoro Area of Abuja.
"While inside the car, they continued hitting... At a certain point, I became mum in the car as they threatened to waste me."
Mr Archibong said when they arrived at the SSS office, the operatives locked him in a cell and again threatened to kill him if he "raised a voice."
He said the operatives would later ask him to identify himself which prompted him to hand them his official identity card from Michelin Tyres Services Company, where he works
"They were still not satisfied, and they continued bullying me in their office and later the three of them left again," he said.
After checking his ATM cards, which all bore his name, the operatives asked him to follow them to an undisclosed location.
"On further insistence that I want to know my offence, the one that acted as their leader banged me on my left ear and threatened that if I make noise again, he will order my detention," he told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said the operatives drove him to the Ethiopian embassy and then marched him "as a criminal into the Ethiopian embassy's Consular office" where they told the consular that they were investigating a case of terrorism.
Apology after assault
But an official at the consular office confirmed that she had asked Mr Archibong to come for his visa collection, which she subsequently handed to him alongside his international passport.
He said the operatives immediately apologised to him for the assault, explaining that they mistook him for a terrorist.
"So, if you had killed me, this is how you would come and apologise to my corpse," he said to the operatives.
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"They went to the driver that carried me and told him to plead with me to calm down and, at that point, drove away."
Mr Archibong said he reported the matter to the police at the Central Business District Divisional Headquarters in Abuja.
He said he has asked his lawyer to petition the SSS, the speaker of the House of Representatives and a federal lawmaker, Ime Okon, who represents Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency, where he (Archibong) hails from.
SSS reacts
When contacted on Tuesday, the SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, told PREMIUM TIMES that the secret police had received the complaint and were investigating the incident.
"No law-abiding citizen deserves to be wrongly treated. The SSS respects the rights of citizens. This is the reason we will thoroughly investigate the matter," Mr Afunanya said.
