COMMENDING THE EFFORTS OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE DSS IN SAFEGUARDING NATIONAL SECURITY AND PROMOTING STABILITY IN NIGERIA
By Prince Emorioloye Owolemi
Director General, Asiwaju Media Team
National security remains fundamental to peace, economic development, political stability, democratic governance and national unity. For a country as complex and diverse as Nigeria, the protection of lives, institutions and critical national interests requires not only visible security operations but, more importantly, the capacity to gather, analyse and act upon intelligence before threats develop into full scale crises.
Nigeria continues to contend with serious security challenges, including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, arms trafficking, economic sabotage, cybercrime, organised criminality and threats to constitutional order. In confronting these challenges, intelligence institutions such as the Department of State Services (DSS) play a particularly important role because much of their work is preventive and necessarily conducted away from public view.
Under the leadership of Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, who was appointed Director General of the DSS by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 26 August 2024, the Service has continued to undertake intelligence led operations directed at identifying and preventing threats to Nigeria’s internal security. Ajayi succeeded Yusuf Magaji Bichi and had previously served in senior DSS positions, including as State Director in several states.
One of the most significant publicly reported examples of intelligence led intervention during his tenure concerns the alleged 2025 coup plot against the Federal Government.
According to detailed reporting based on sources familiar with the investigation, the DSS independently gathered intelligence suggesting that serving military officers were allegedly planning to destabilise the government and undermine Nigeria’s democratic order. The Director General was reported to have personally briefed the then Chief of Army Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, after which the Army and DSS coordinated a discreet operation that resulted in arrests of suspected participants.
Subsequent investigations reportedly identified dozens of suspects and examined allegations involving military officers, civilians and others. The alleged conspiracy reportedly included plans to seize strategic national installations and target senior political and military officials.
Regardless of the eventual judicial outcomes of those proceedings, the episode illustrates the importance of early warning intelligence, inter agency cooperation and preventive action in protecting constitutional government.
A threat that is successfully detected and prevented before it materialises rarely receives the same public attention as a crisis that has already occurred. Yet, from a national security perspective, prevention is often the greater achievement.
The DSS’s statutory responsibilities place intelligence gathering and internal security at the centre of its operations. Its work encompasses counter intelligence, counter terrorism support, protection of critical national interests, detection of threats to national security and collaboration with other security institutions.
Effective intelligence allows government to identify potential threats before they escalate. It also enables security agencies to deploy resources more strategically and reduce the possibility of large scale disruption.
For ordinary citizens, the ultimate measure of security is the ability to live, travel, work, trade and conduct legitimate activities without living under constant fear.
Across parts of the South West and other regions of Nigeria, citizens have continued to demand and benefit from stronger security coordination. Although security challenges have certainly not disappeared, improvements in intelligence sharing and preventive operations can contribute significantly to public confidence, commercial activity and economic stability.
A secure environment is also essential for investment. Businesses cannot flourish where entrepreneurs are afraid to travel, transport goods or establish operations. Markets cannot function efficiently where insecurity prevents movement. Political participation also becomes more meaningful when citizens can attend campaigns, meetings and electoral activities without fear of violence.
The preservation of Nigeria’s democratic order deserves particular attention.
Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, the country has experienced numerous political tensions, electoral disputes and security threats. Intelligence and security institutions have therefore had an important responsibility to ensure that political disagreements do not degenerate into violence or unconstitutional attempts to seize power.
The reported discovery and disruption of the alleged 2025 coup conspiracy is a reminder that democratic stability cannot be taken for granted.
Where credible intelligence indicates a threat to constitutional government, the responsibility of the security establishment is to identify the threat, investigate it professionally and ensure that those responsible are dealt with through the law.
My Personal Observation of DSS Custody
I also consider it important to acknowledge an aspect of the DSS that is rarely discussed publicly, the welfare of persons held in its custody.
During my own period in DSS detention, I personally observed arrangements relating to the feeding and welfare of detainees. I also encountered other detainees who told me that they had spent extended periods in custody while their cases were being investigated.
From my personal experience and observations, detainees were provided with meals regularly, including arrangements whereby officers asked detainees what they wished to eat and obtained food for them. I also observed the provision of basic personal care items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as access to medical attention, the welfares were not exchanged with bail funds. Bail is purely free.
These observations are also presented as claimed by others that every DSS facility operates identically or that every detainee has the same experience. They also represent my personal experience and observations while I was in custody.
As such welfare arrangements are consistently maintained across detention facilities, they represent an important aspect of humane treatment of persons in lawful custody.
It also raises an important question for Nigeria’s wider correctional system, if persons under investigation can receive structured feeding, healthcare and basic welfare support in an intelligence facility, should comparable standards not be maintained for convicted and remanded persons within the custodial system?
This is not an argument for preferential treatment. It is an argument for minimum standards of human dignity across all detention and correctional institutions.
The resources required to maintain intelligence operations, provide security personnel, investigate threats, feed detainees, provide medical care and maintain specialised facilities are substantial as maintained by the DSS under the watch of the Director General.
Security institutions operate around the clock. Their personnel work under difficult conditions, often without public recognition.
The public therefore sees only a fraction of the resources and sacrifices required to prevent threats from becoming national emergencies.
It is important for citizens to recognise that security is not free. Intelligence gathering, surveillance, analysis, logistics, technology, personnel, detention facilities, medical services and inter agency operations all require sustained investment.
Commending the work of DSS does not mean abandoning the principles of accountability on other security agencies.
The DSS, like every other public institution, must continue to operate within the Constitution and the law. Respect for human rights, due process, professional conduct and humane treatment of persons in custody must remain integral to national security operations.
Indeed, effective security and respect for fundamental rights should complement rather than contradict each other.
Public confidence is strengthened when citizens know that security agencies are capable of protecting the nation while simultaneously respecting the law.
The Asiwaju Media Team is a public interest media and strategic communications organisation committed to investigative journalism, civic engagement, responsible advocacy, fact based public communication and the promotion of peace, security and good governance.
Our commitment to public interest journalism requires us to recognise positive developments wherever we find them, just as it requires us to question actions or policies that deserve scrutiny.
On the contrary, a responsible media organisation should be capable of holding institutions accountable while also recognising genuine service and sacrifice.
We therefore believe that the men and women of the DSS who work quietly to identify threats, protect national institutions and prevent insecurity deserve recognition when their efforts produce positive outcomes.
Asiwaju Media Team therefore commends the Director General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, and the officers and personnel of the Service for their continued contribution to Nigeria’s internal security.
We equally recognise the sacrifices of security personnel whose contributions frequently remain outside public view.
Nigeria needs security institutions that are intelligent, proactive, professional, accountable and humane.
The country also needs citizens, political actors, the media and civil society to understand that national security is a collective responsibility.
The objective must ultimately be a Nigeria where citizens can travel freely, conduct legitimate businesses, participate peacefully in political activities and pursue their livelihoods without fear.
A safer Nigeria is not merely a security achievement, it is an economic, democratic and humanitarian achievement.
Asiwaju Media Team will continue to use responsible journalism, investigative reporting and strategic public communication to promote peace, national stability, accountability and the public interest.
