The Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the agency to stop arresting individuals over civil matters.
Ajayi said the directive forms part of ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening respect for the rule of law, protecting human rights and improving the operational standards of the security agency.
The DSS boss disclosed this during a media interview on Thursday, where he outlined reforms introduced since he assumed leadership of the agency.
According to Ajayi, the reforms focus on five major areas, including law enforcement, inter-agency collaboration, accountability, respect for human rights, as well as infrastructural and administrative development.
He said one of the major outcomes of the reforms was the establishment of a clearer distinction between civil and criminal matters in the operations of the DSS.
Ajayi noted that his experience in the security sector had shown that civil and criminal matters were previously sometimes treated in similar ways, stressing that the use of force should not be applied in resolving civil disputes.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” he said.
The DSS Director-General cited the case involving political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, over allegations surrounding an attempt to establish a shadow government.
According to him, rather than arrest Utomi, the DSS approached the court to seek judicial interpretation of the matter.
“Rather than arrest him, we sought judicial interpretation. And the court ruled that his adventure was unconstitutional, illegal, and a threat to national security,” Ajayi said.
He also referred to a legal case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, which approached the court over allegations that two DSS operatives invaded its office.
Ajayi said the matter was handled through the judicial process without the arrest of anyone, adding that the court eventually awarded more than N100 million in favour of SERAP.
Speaking further on the agency’s approach to civil disputes, the DSS boss said operatives had been expressly instructed not to make arrests in matters that are strictly civil in nature.
“Yes. I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case,” he said.
Ajayi added that the agency now prefers to seek legal redress through the courts, including in matters involving journalists.
“And I’m sure you have found out that, even in cases involving journalists, we would rather approach the court because we do the same job.
“I call you guys our professional colleagues. The only difference is that, while you inform the public, we inform the Government. And because we inform the Government, our information is classified until we declassify it,” he added.
The directive is expected to reinforce calls for security agencies in Nigeria to respect citizens’ rights and rely more on judicial processes in the resolution of civil disputes.
