By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

The Department of State Services (DSS) has urged stakeholders to address the growing perception among Nigerians that security and intelligence agencies are adversaries rather than allies.

Delivering the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, the Director General of the DSS, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, emphasized that such a perception negatively impacts intelligence gathering, peacebuilding, and national integration.

Speaking on the topic, The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration, Mr. Ajayi, who was represented by DSS Deputy Director Mr. Patrick Ikenweiwe, called for stronger institutions, a reorientation of public perception, and a more strategic approach to recruitment and staffing.

Despite existing challenges, he noted that the DSS continues to collaborate with sister agencies and engage stakeholders to navigate security threats effectively.

Mr. Ikenweiwe also advocated for a recruitment policy that prioritizes academic excellence, suggesting that the best graduates in the country should be enlisted into the DSS to strengthen national security.

“If I had my way, the best students from universities should be mandated to serve the country in intelligence roles,” he said. Drawing a comparison with Israel’s university admission system, he stressed that intelligence work requires top-tier minds.

“It takes intellect to track criminality. You cannot expect a dullard to outthink a criminal gang made up of highly intelligent individuals,” he added.

The lecture provided an overview of Nigeria’s internal security challenges, highlighting traditional threats such as sabotage, subversion, and espionage. Mr. Ikenweiwe noted that in the past two decades, terrorism and insurgency have posed unprecedented threats, alongside separatist agitations, militancy, illegal oil bunkering, farmer-herder conflicts, cybercrime, political violence, armed robbery, and kidnapping.

He also outlined the DSS’s mandate under the NSA Act CAP N74 LFN, 2024, and SSS Instrument No. 1 of 1999, which empower the agency to prevent and investigate threats to national security, including espionage, terrorism, and economic crimes. Additionally, the DSS is tasked with providing timely security advice to the government.

In his address, the Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, Professor Abdulganiyu Jawondo, highlighted the centre’s role in manpower development for crisis and conflict resolution.

“Since its establishment in 2008, the centre has trained officers from the Nigerian Armed Forces, security agencies, and other nations, equipping them with skills to handle contemporary security challenges,” he stated.

The lecture reinforced the need for strategic intelligence gathering, stronger institutional frameworks, and public collaboration in tackling Nigeria’s security challenges.