Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), has condemned the Jigawa State command of the Department of State Services (DSS) for the informal and unprofessional summons of its programme officer, labeling the action as direct harassment and intimidation, reports ITREALMS.
The organization traces this campaign of harassment back to its March 10 press conference, where CITAD forcefully demanded justice for Walida Abdulhadi, a woman whose case of abduction and repeated rape, the group has been actively advocating.
CITAD Executive Director, Y.Z. Ya’u, stated that following that public call for justice, Mr. Muhammad was subjected to repeated phone calls from DSS officials, culminating in the verbal summons that Ya’u described as unnecessary pressure.
Ya’u labeled the DSS’s conduct as a violation of national regulations and international standards designed to protect civil society actors, warning that the targeting of CITAD staff would not deter the organization’s mission to protect vulnerable children, women, and communities.
CITAD is now calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Director-General of the DSS to directly intervene, enforce professionalism within the service’s personnel, and ensure that security agencies cease from harassing human rights defenders.
The group further urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to monitor and address what it termed the frequent abuse of human rights by security agencies in Jigawa State.
Reaffirming its stance on the original case that sparked the tension, CITAD reiterated that the abductor of Walida Abdulhadi must be investigated and made to face the full weight of the law for abduction and repeated rape.
Uboshe Uboshe/Editor
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