The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied reports that renowned writer and academic, Prof Okey Ndibe, was arrested on Monday and detained at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Reports quoting a source familiar with the matter, Ndibe arrived from the United States about 11:30am June 1 and was engaged by DSS officials over a Watch-List Action (WLA) placed on him in 2013, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The source said Ndibe was neither arrested nor detained. He was taken through routine questioning at the border control point in line with standard international procedures.
“In Prof Ndibe’s case, the interaction at the Lagos airport was purely procedural and should not be interpreted as an arrest or detention,” the source stated.
The scholar reportedly completed the engagement and left the airport about 30 minutes later.
The source disclosed that the current DSS Director-General, Mr. Tosin Ajayi, has downgraded Ndibe’s watch-list status as part of an ongoing review of legacy WLAs inherited by the agency.
The present leadership directed a reassessment of old watch-list cases to clear individuals whose cases no longer warrant surveillance restrictions.
Affected persons are being engaged to facilitate final delisting, the source added.
The clarification comes after earlier reports suggested that the literary scholar was arrested and held by DSS operatives on arrival.