BEVERLY HILL, April 06, (THEWILL) – Uno Jude Ilo, the Nigeria Office Director for the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) has been released by the Department of State Security (DSS), hours after he responded to a summon by the secret police.
His visit to the Abuja Command of the DSS in Asokoro District had been reported on Friday morning when his colleagues and associates could not communicate with him for unknown reasons.
His driver said he drove Ilo to the secret police, but could not tell why he was being kept inside without updates about his condition.
His colleagues also raised the alarm, with some OSIWA officials revealing that the encounter came amidst a series of disturbing messages the organisation has had with Nigeria’s security intelligence bodies recently.
Speaking after his release, Ilo said the DSS’ questions centered around his organisation’s activities in Nigeria.
“They asked to know our partners, how we’re getting funding and who we are funding,” he told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone shortly after his release.
“They also indicated interest in profiling us, knowing what we do, who our partners are and how our grantees are using the funds received from.
“They took my fingerprints and other details and told me our interaction was a friendly one.”
OSIWA is an advocacy and grant-making organisation that pushes for open societies, accountability and inclusive democratic governance with presence in 10 African countries.
