Family Alarms Over Missing Lawyer Moses Oddiri in DSS Custody

Nigeria – The family of Nigerian lawyer Barrister Moses Oddiri has raised serious concerns after he went missing while in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

His younger brother, Doro Oddiri, appealed for public intervention, accusing the security agencies of withholding critical information about the detainee’s fate. According to him, Moses Oddiri was “last seen on 10 November 2025 after being taken into custody by operatives of the DSS at the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”

“For nearly a month, our family has received no official communication regarding his whereabouts, legal status, or wellbeing,” Doro said. “All efforts to obtain information through formal channels have been met with silence, evasion, or outright denial. We fear for his safety. We fear for his life.”

SaharaReporters previously reported on November 26 that the DSS had secretly moved Oddiri from its Lagos facility to its headquarters in Abuja without notifying his family. His son, Solomon Oddiri, said the family only learned of the transfer through an inside source.

[irp]

Sources claim that the EFCC chairman later informed petitioners that over N4 billion had been recovered and placed under an EFCC lien, yet refused to disclose the account signatories or convene a promised stakeholders’ meeting.

“This is a clear case of collusion between the EFCC chairman and the Heritage MD to misappropriate funds intended for Orogun,” a source said. “The recovery of over four billion naira for Orogun has effectively been stolen, and the EFCC is now attempting to cover up by confusing it with payments meant for other communities.”

SaharaReporters had previously reported irregularities, including a January 31, 2025, payment of N4.1 billion to the Uherieve Host Community, which the EFCC allegedly obtained evidence for months after Olukoyede claimed to have recovered funds for Orogun.

Neither the DSS nor the EFCC has issued a public statement regarding Moses Oddiri’s detention or the family’s claims. Human rights organizations have warned that disappearances or prolonged incommunicado detentions violate Nigerian and international law, including constitutional guarantees to access legal representation and information about one’s detention.

Families of detainees held by the DSS have often struggled to access information about their relatives, a situation that continues to raise serious human rights concerns in Nigeria.