The DG, DSS is making a lot of sense

By Taiwo Adisa

IN the middle of February 2025, the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Security Studies held its maiden annual lecture in Abuja. On that occasion, the Director General, Department of State Services, DG, DSS, Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, displayed the comedian in him when he cracked not a few ribs. It was surprising that a man in a highly demanding position could entertain his guests so well.

Ajayi had told the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, chairman of the occasion, that the decision of the Canadian government to deny him and some military officers visa to enable them to attend a sporting event in Vancouver was due to the covert operations of the secret service. He stated that General Musa underestimated the DSS and consequently faced the repercussions for his actions.

Ajayi had said: “As much as I like General Musa, he underrated me. I have spent 35 years in this job, but for political appointments, I should be on my way out by April… and all I’ve learnt is covertness, how to do things covertly. General Musa, you made a mistake with me.”

He said the service was shocked that Musa began processing a Canadian visa after agreeing to chair the event. “So, we covertly made sure we denied you. So, my dear General, next time when you hear of DSS and under a leadership like mine, who has swag on the job, don’t underrate us, when you leave here, you can see me, you get your Canadian visa. We wanted you to be here so you couldn’t have been in Vancouver.”

After succeeding in cracking the ribs of his guests, the DG went on to proffer some solutions to what is fast becoming the intractable insurgency challenge in the country. I am even surprised that weeks after his submission, the national and sub-national governments are not thinking of how to adopt his position as policy directions to tackle insurgency in the land.

Role of Citizens

According to Ajayi, there is the need to make Nigerian citizens the first layer of defence against attacks by bandits and insurgents, because there is no way a security agency would muster the resources to guard every inch of a nation’s land mass. He related his experience while serving as Bauchi State Director of the service to back up his submissions on what he called the practical approach towards curbing terrorism.

According to him, the story of Azare community in Bauchi State and Tafawa Balewa, another area of the same state, provides clear examples on the way to go in tackling the menace of insurgency and banditry.

Hear the DG: “Speaking seriously about the practical approach to mobilizing to curb insecurity, I will share experience with you when I was state director in Bauchi. Most of you would remember an incident in Azare. A group of terrorists, Boko Haram, had invaded Azare. They were shooting to kidnap, and the community chased them. They killed some members of the community, but the community members killed all of them. The last guy, Khalid, climbed a tree and was firing, the community stood, they were resilient, and they killed Khalid.

“Since that day, there has not been one terrorist attack on Azare. In fact, the former head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida said, ‘if we want to stop or curb this terrorism, we should emulate the Azare example.’ Tafawa Balewa was also a community that used to be in flames in Bauchi. And the people of Bogoro and some parts of Tafawa Balewa, where the Sayawas are, know their terrains better, climb on trees and mountains and when the invaders came, they did not only repel them, they seized their weapons and since then you can attest to it that you hardly hear about Tafawa Balewa again.

“What I am trying to say, the practical approach to mobilizing people is that you must get everyone involved. You did not expect the Nigerian Army, Police, DSS to protect every Nigerian or every community. It is not going to work. In the US if you visit someone in the house, you will be shocked that when the guy hears a police siren, he will just pull his drawer, pull out his gun and keep it. So, one of my hosts did that and I asked him, ‘why did you do that, and he said, if they are chasing someone, and he enters my house, I will shoot him first.’

“And that is the layer we must start thinking about. How can we create the first layer of defence. The military, police and all the security agencies are to deal with the bigger one. The organised ones. But it is impossible for us to deploy to every community in the country, it is unimaginable that any security agency has resources to do that.”

First line of Defence

The DG further told his listeners that as they leave the venue of the lecture, they should go with the readiness to create the first line of defence in the communities, such that the people would be prepared to act as the “first line of defence.”

In a rhetorical tone, he asked what our culture is and answered by saying that our culture is communal. “We have ceremonies together. Festivals together, Wedding ceremonies together. So why can’t we fight some miscreants, some charlatans among us together.” He submitted that a community should say that terrorists cannot come near it. “That is what Tafawa Balewa had done. If you go to that community to attack them, you will be sorry for yourself…

The DG hit the nail on the head when he frankly submitted that the system must allow a level of armament among our communities to ensure that they are able to function as the true first line of defence. He said: “We have to allow some level of armament for the communities, and they can serve as first line of defence.” He added that the elite in the society should be able to influence how communities secure some approvals that would ensure that the people can function as the first line of defence.

He further submitted: “You can imagine, one community, call it Sector Four, or whatever, call the Army that they were attacking the community. Before they (the Army) get there, they (the miscreants) have attacked another community. That security starts from you.”

He informed the audience that if human beings exist, insecurity will persist. He highlighted that the world has experienced various forms of crime, including revolutions and plane hijackings. “People say there is security problem in Nigeria, as long as human beings exist, there would always be security problems,” he stated. He added: “We must take that mentality away. What are the security agencies doing? Who apart from a tree knows that they want to come and cut him and would remain standing. Only a tree. We must get the communities to rise and defend themselves first, and the time to start it is now!”

A lesson to Borrow

I don’t know whether we should commend Mr. Ajayi for breaking the stereotypical chain of security officers in the country who talk tongue-in-cheek on such matters. We must just commend him for telling the truth as it is. This must be one of the rare occasions we hear an officer of state speak to the issue of insecurity the way it should be.

But besides hearing him tell the truth, governments at all levels must make something out of what he had said. If we cannot license all Nigerians who wish to own a gun, we should be able to license vigilante groups and community security outfits to defend the people and prevent cheap, untimely deaths.

Many Nigerians have clamoured for gun licensing in the country, but the official position has always been laming and unhelpful. ‘Oh! It will lead to an escalation in gun crime and violence’! ‘It will lead to many untimely deaths and so forth.’ But the flip side of that argument is always avoided. If a criminal knows that he is going to encounter resistance in an area of operation, he will think twice. It is a pity we already have the examples of Azare and Tafawa Balewa in this country, yet we hear of bandits and their midnight raids on communities becoming a commonplace.

Just recently, the same chilling and nauseating stories rented the air in Ondo State when some 40 persons were mowed down by terrorists in a midnight raid on four communities. Reports indicated that Aba Alajido, Aba Sunday, Aba Pastor, and Ademekun villages in Akure North Local Government Area were invaded by gunmen at night. The incident resulted in fatalities and caused many residents to flee their homes.

Hear a resident: “They attacked our communities on Friday night when everyone was asleep. They opened fire at everyone in sight. Many sought refuges in the bush, while some unfortunate ones were killed in the villages. I am sure that over 40 people have been killed while many have sustained injuries.”

I think the launch of this sort of attack on Ondo soil should not only send clear signals to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his cabinet that: Ise wa fun won lati se; even though that’s a line from another states’ anthem, but it should also tell the Ondo State chapter of Amotekun its time to double its efforts. Accounts of the victims looked exactly like the ones we heard from Plateau, Benue, and the insurgency-ravaged areas. When we are not at war, why would anyone launch an attack on a people who were peacefully enjoying their rest after a day’s arduous work? What is the essence of that attack, particularly when slavery and slave trade-the driving force behind such raids in centuries past are no longer in practice.

Whether it is Ondo, Zamfara, Katsina or Borno, attacks by bandits and insurgents must be terminated and like the DG DSS said, the time to do that is Now!

* Adisa is General Editor, Nigerian Tribune