Panic at IHS Towers as ICPC raids Amnesty International event

Operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Thursday stormed the IHS Towers office in Wuse 2, Abuja, disrupting an event being hosted by Amnesty International to mark World Human Rights Day.

Eyewitnesses said the operatives arrived in multiple vehicles and immediately restricted movement in and out of the building. Staff members were reportedly ordered to surrender their mobile phones, laptops and smartwatches, with over 40 devices seized.

Sources at the scene alleged that ICPC officers threatened to shoot anyone who attempted to exit or enter the premises during the operation.

“The Amnesty International staff making a Human Rights Day presentation were held inside the conference room. The officers said no one must leave,” one witness told our reporter.

Two Amnesty International personnel were said to be trapped in the building at the time of filing the report.

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Employees who tried to leave the conference area were allegedly ordered back by armed personnel who insisted the entire floor remain secured.

“They disrupted the presentation and threatened to shoot anyone who tried to leave,” another source said.

The reasons for the operation remain unclear as ICPC has not issued an official statement.

IHS Towers, which began operations in Nigeria in 2001, manages telecoms infrastructure across the country and maintains offices in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Asaba, Kano and Port Harcourt.

Efforts to reach IHS management and Amnesty International representatives for comments were unsuccessful as of press time.