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DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has ordered operatives to stop arresting persons over civil disputes and instead allow the courts to resolve such matters
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Ajayi said the DSS had previously blurred the distinction between civil and criminal matters but stressed that force must never be used
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The DSS boss cited the cases involving Pat Utomi, SERAP and Omoyele Sowore as examples of the Service’s increasing reliance on judicial processes rather than arrest and detention, saying contentious matters should be subjected to court scrutiny where necessary.
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Ajayi also ruled out arresting journalists over reports considered inaccurate, preferring correction, engagement or litigation while insisting that the DSS must reserve its coercive powers for genuine criminal and national security threats within the limits of the law.
September 03, (THEWILL) — The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, has ordered operatives of the agency to stop arresting individuals over civil disputes, declaring that such matters must be resolved through lawful judicial processes.
Ajayi said the directive was part of reforms introduced under his leadership to reposition the Service, strengthen respect for the rule of law and improve its human rights record.
The DSS boss, who spoke on the reforms within the agency, said security operatives must understand the difference between civil disagreements and matters involving criminality or threats to national security. He said the powers of arrest and force available to security agencies should not be deployed to settle disputes that properly belong in civil courts.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force”, Ajayi said.
Reforming The Service
Ajayi said the reform programme under his leadership was centred on five major areas: law enforcement, inter-agency cooperation, accountability, respect for human rights, and infrastructural and administrative reforms. He acknowledged that the DSS had in the past been involved in situations where civil and criminal matters were not sufficiently distinguished.
According to him, the agency is now working to correct such practices by ensuring that operatives act within the limits of their legal mandate.
Ajayi said the objective was not to weaken the DSS but to make its interventions more professional, accountable and effective. He maintained that the credibility of a security agency depends not only on its ability to confront threats but also on its willingness to respect the law while doing so.
The DSS boss cited the case involving Professor Pat Utomi as an example of the approach he wants institutionalised in the DSS.
Rather than arresting Utomi over his proposal for a “shadow government”, the Service, according to the DG, sought judicial interpretation of the matter.
Ajayi said the court subsequently ruled that the initiative was unconstitutional, illegal and constituted a threat to national security. He said the case demonstrated that security agencies could seek judicial intervention in contentious matters rather than immediately resorting to arrest.
He also referred to the dispute involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which accused two DSS operatives of invading its premises.
Ajayi said the Service allowed the matter to proceed in court rather than arresting those involved, adding that the court later awarded more than N100 million in SERAP’s favour.
He presented both cases as evidence of a changing operational culture in which the courts are increasingly being used to determine contentious legal questions.
The DSS director-general also cited the case involving activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore.
Ajayi said the Service did not oppose Sowore’s bail because it had not arrested him, stressing that the DSS preferred to allow the judicial process to run its course.
Ajayi said security agencies should not assume the powers of the judiciary by using arrest as a substitute for legal proceedings.
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Journalists Not Exempt From Due Process
The DSS boss also addressed the agency’s relationship with the media, describing journalists as “professional colleagues”. He said journalists have a responsibility to inform the public, while the DSS has a responsibility to provide intelligence to government, noting that information held by the Service remains classified until it is officially declassified.
Ajayi said journalists who publish information the DSS considers inaccurate would not automatically face arrest.
Instead, he said the Service could seek a correction, engage relevant professional bodies, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the International Press Institute, or approach the courts.
The position marks a departure from any practice in which the threat of arrest is used as the first response to critical or disputed publications.
Accountability Over Fear
Ajayi said the broader objective of his reforms was to move the DSS away from a culture driven by fear and towards one founded on accountability.
He said the Service had taken disciplinary action where operatives were found to have acted improperly and had also paid compensation in cases involving operational errors.
He further said the agency was increasingly focused on securing convictions in genuine security cases rather than measuring its effectiveness by the number of arrests it makes.
For Ajayi, the effectiveness of the DSS should therefore be measured by the quality of its intelligence, the legality of its operations and its ability to protect national security without undermining the rights guaranteed by law.
The directive against arrests over civil disputes is consequently being positioned as part of a wider effort to redefine the operational culture of the Service.
Under the new approach, civil disagreements are to remain within the civil justice system, while the coercive powers of the DSS are reserved for matters where there are legitimate grounds involving crime, national security or other offences within its statutory mandate.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
