Agents from the State Security Service on Monday violently dispersed occupants of a property owned by Abubakar Malami in Abuja. 

The former attorney-general had received former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar at the same location in Maitama, moments before the raid shortly after 3:00 p.m., sources said.

Mr Abubakar was there for about an hour, an aide to him said, with another witness saying the SSS officers had surrounded Mr Malami’s residence while the former VP was visiting, only to move in immediately after the meeting. 

The development comes as pressure mounts on opposition bigwigs like Mr Malami to join the ruling All Progressives Congress, with critics saying President Bola Tinubu is personally executing the squeezing of opponents to pave way for a smoother reelection next year. 

Mr Malami has been standing trial for alleged corruption for several weeks, a prosecution widely assumed to be politically-motivated. 

The president has strongly denied charges of victimising political opponents, saying his records since assuming office in 2023 would be sufficient to guarantee his reelection. 

Mr Abubakar shared photos of his visit to Mr Malami on his social media pages earlier today, but did not comment on the SSS raid that followed it. 

A spokesman for the SSS did not immediately return a request seeking comments. The agency has long served as a repressive tool for successive Nigerian administrations, starting with the brutal military juntas of the 1990s.