Africa Independent Television and Channels Television have publicly apologised to the Department of State Services over their reports on the agencyโs involvement in the Lagos State House of Assembly crisis on February 17.
AIT News, in an official statement during its News Hour program, retracted its initial report clarifying that its reporting was based on eyewitness accounts but acknowledged that the information was incomplete and had unintentionally misrepresented the role of the DSS.
Obasa
It said, โAIT News wishes to apologise to the Department of State Services for the news item broadcast during our bulletin on Monday 17th February 2025, regarding the presence of DSS at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
โOur intention was not to malign or embarrass the DSS, an institution we hold in the highest regard for its critical role in safeguarding our nation.
โOur reporting was based on eye-witness account obtained from sources available at the Lagos State House of Assembly. However, we recognize that the report may have been incomplete and unintentionally misrepresented the service and its presence at the State House of Assembly. We regret any embarrassment this may have caused.โ
Meanwhile, Channels TV, on Friday, also offered an apology during its program, Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, where the former Assistant Director-General of the DSS, Muhammed Ngoshe, was a guest.
Okinbaloye stated that the situation had been misinterpreted with initial videos portraying a picture of lawmakers shocked by the DSS presence, suggesting an invasion by the DSS.
However, it was later revealed that the clerk of the House had formally requested the DSSโs presence for protection.
Okinbaloye said, โIt came to light in some of the letters that we actually now saw that it was the clerk of the Lagos Assembly who actually wrote for DSS protection at the House of Assembly. But if you look at the video, it was made to appear as though the lawmakers were fighting to get inside and they were shocked that DSS was there.
โI think itโs right to apologise to the service to say the use of invasion might not be the right word to use because it was portrayed as though the DSS invaded, they were not invited, but it came to light that there was no decency in how they carried out their work.
โIn the real sense of it, it happened that they invited the DSS. I think an apology is right to be placed on the doorstep of the DSS to say the use of โinvasionโ is probably not the right word to use and not to demean the role and the effort of the DSS, that was not the right word to use.โ
Ngoshe also hoped that โthe apology will be carried to the DSS officially.โ
Recall that the DSS had threatened legal action against both media stations, accusing them of publishing false and malicious reports.
In a letter sent by their lawyer, Adedeji Adedipe (SAN), the DSS refuted claims that it had engaged in any unlawful activities. The agency explained that its role was to support existing security forces, and it did not engage in any unlawful activities.
The DSS demanded an immediate retraction and public apology to be aired across all platforms for three consecutive days. It further warned that failure to comply within seven days would prompt civil and criminal legal actions under Nigeriaโs Cybercrimes Act.
