In true Gestapo-style, the operatives had arrived the residence on Alexander Road, Ikoyi, but when the family refused to open the door, they allegedly broke down the doors and windows.
According to reports, the eviction was carried out after the incumbent Director General of DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, was alleged to have ordered that Are, who headed the same agency under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, must be removed from the house, which the DSS believes is an official residence that still belongs to the agency.
Are had however obtained a court injunction restraining the DSS from evicting him from the residence, but the DSS flouted the court order and evicted him forcibly.
Storming the house with three buses, the operatives forcibly broke into the house and harassed the residents after they could not produce a legal document to back their invasion.
Having no option than to pack, the family called in three trucks to help them convey some personal effects, but were unable to move their electrical appliances.
In an interview an aggrieved family member, who was around when the DSS personnel struck, said the incident was nothing short of an invasion.
She said: “It happened around 12.30 pm when they struck all dressed in black. Mummy (Mrs. Are) had just come back from the hospital because she wasn’t feeling well.
“We were discussing when they stormed the house. We saw them from the window and she asked them who they were but they refused to disclose their identity.
“Mummy went and locked the door and the next thing they did was to break our doors and windows. The two female DSS operatives fought her (Mrs. Are) they tried to seize her phones.
“In the process, the one with the red hair even beat her. According to them, they were acting on orders from above.
“They first told us that they will take all of us to Abuja but we refused and they seized all our phones. Daddy (Col. Are) wasn’t around at the time.
“When he came back and the DSS personnel saw him, they were perplexed because they claimed that they did not know that it was his house they were sent to.
“They started pleading with him that they were only obeying orders. As we speak, we are still parking our property but I don't know when we will finish.
“They have not allowed us to go out and refused to permit people to come in to help us. We are currently at their mercy.”
Are, a retired Nigerian Army colonel, was DSS Director General from 1999 to 2007 and briefly served as acting National Security Adviser (NSA) in 2010.
He also served as an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) until his retirement by former military head of state, General Sani Abacha.
He was appointed DSS DG by former President Obasanjo and was replaced by Afakiriya Gadzma.
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