Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has secretly moved lawyer and human rights advocate Moses Oddiri, Esq., from its Lagos facility to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, without informing his family, SaharaReporters reports.

Oddiri was abducted from his Lagos home on November 10 by armed DSS operatives, allegedly acting on the orders of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, following a petition Oddiri reportedly filed abroad accusing Olukoyede of financial misconduct.

According to family sources, the arrest occurred around 10 p.m., when DSS agents forcibly entered Oddiri’s home, breaking padlocks and confronting the lawyer in front of his 17-year-old son and daughter. One family member recounted that Oddiri’s son was struck during the arrest. Oddiri was handcuffed and taken away.

The lawyer remained in Lagos DSS custody for 15 days without charge, and the family only learned of his transfer to Abuja from an insider. Solomon Oddiri, the lawyer’s son, said:

“The DSS transferred my father without informing us, and we now fear for his safety. He has still not been charged with any offence since his arrest on November 10.”

Sources link Oddiri’s detention to a petition he submitted to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in London, alleging that EFCC Chairman Olukoyede misappropriated funds belonging to the Orogun Oil Producing Community in Delta State, which Oddiri represents.

“Moses has been fighting for a community that has suffered injustice for decades. He petitioned against the EFCC Chairman, and as a result, was allegedly targeted for arrest,” a source said.

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore condemned the detention as an abuse of power:

“I strongly condemn the unlawful detention of lawyer Moses Oddiri by the lawless DSS, purportedly on the orders of EFCC Chair Ola Olukeyede. Lawyer Oddiri has spent nearly two weeks in detention and has reportedly been transferred to Abuja. I demand his immediate and unconditional release.”

The dispute centers on over ₦4 billion in statutory community development payments allegedly owed to the Orogun community by Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd. Community representatives, including Moses Oddiri, petitioned the EFCC in July 2024 over the missing funds.

Sources allege that the EFCC chairman recovered the funds but refused to disclose account signatories or hold promised stakeholder meetings. Irregularities include a January 31, 2025, payment of ₦4.1 billion to the Uherieve Host Community, which was later confused with the Orogun funds. Legal representatives from Patrick Agun & Associates said all funds were intended for the Orogun community account under EFCC supervision.

“The EFCC chairman and Heritage MD have shown blatant disregard for the statutory rights of Orogun indigenes,” a source said. “Their actions suggest intentional misappropriation.”

Family members and rights activists warn that Oddiri’s continued incommunicado detention may be part of a broader effort to intimidate whistleblowers exposing corruption in Nigeria’s oil-producing regions.