Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, has called for a national policy mandating the recruitment of first-class graduates into the intelligence agency to enhance national security.
DSS boss Oluwatosin Ajayi made this known during the presentation of a lecture at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday.
During the lecture titled, ‘The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping and National Integration’, the secret police boss called for the strengthening of institutions like intelligence agencies, reorientation of roles and a rethink on recruitment and staffing.
Represented by the DSS Deputy Director, Patrick Ikenweiwe, said that if he has his way, the best graduates in the country should be forced to join the DSS and serve the nation to tackle security challenges.
“Like I know in Israel, they have one examination that students take to get admission into the university. The moment you score above 70 marks, you have no option but to be sent to the university there.
“Tell me how would a ‘Dundee’ (dullard) be able to keep the security of a criminal gang that is constituted of first-class people? You know, it takes intellect to track criminality.
“So, if I have my way in this country, and we keep praying that we do the right thing, the academia should be able to supply us, sincerely, the details of students who have excelled in their various fields of study so that they would be forced to serve this great nation,” he said.
He also identified threats to national security, including sabotage, subversion, and espionage, among others.
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He said, “In the last two decades, however, terrorism and insurgency have threatened internal security like never before in the nation’s history. Other threats of national security dimension extend to separatist agitations, militancy, oil bunkering, farmer-herder clashes, ethno-religious hostilities, economic and cyber crimes, political violence and sundry violent crimes, such as armed robbery and kidnapping.”
Ajayi also stressed the need to shift public perception of security agencies, noting that viewing them as adversaries rather than allies negatively impacts intelligence gathering and peacebuilding efforts.
Addressing Nigeria’s evolving security landscape, he highlighted that traditional threats such as sabotage, subversion, and espionage have transformed into complex challenges, including terrorism, insurgency, cybercrime and economic sabotage. He reaffirmed the DSS’s commitment to tackling these threats through strategic collaborations and continuous engagement with stakeholders.
He outlined the DSS’s legal framework, referencing the NSA Act CAP N74 LFN, 2024, and SSS Instrument No. 1 of 1999, which mandate the service to prevent crimes against Nigeria’s internal security and provide timely security advice to the government.
