The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the secret police to stop making arrests in civil disputes, insisting such matters should be resolved in court rather than through security action.
Ajayi disclosed the directive during a media interview on Thursday, describing it as part of broader reforms targeting law enforcement conduct, inter-agency cooperation, accountability, human rights, and administrative development within the agency.
He said the reforms are meant to help DSS operatives clearly separate civil disputes from criminal offences, warning that force would no longer be applied in matters that are essentially civil.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” Ajayi said.
He added that disputes properly suited for the courts should not be turned into security operations involving arrests or intimidation.
“Go to Court, Don’t Arrest”
Asked whether the DSS now channels civil disputes to the judiciary, Ajayi confirmed: “Yes. I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case.”
He said the agency had already demonstrated this shift in cases involving journalists and civil society groups, citing the matter involving political economist Prof. Pat Utomi over an alleged plan to form a “shadow government.”
Rather than arrest Utomi, Ajayi said the DSS sought a court interpretation of the matter. The court later ruled the alleged project unconstitutional, illegal, and a threat to national security.
SERAP Case Ends in Court, N100m Awarded
Ajayi also referenced the case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which had gone to court over allegations that two DSS operatives invaded its office premises.
He said the DSS allowed the matter to run through the judicial process instead of resorting to arrests, and the court eventually awarded SERAP more than N100 million in damages.
According to him, the outcome reinforced the importance of letting courts settle disputes that do not warrant criminal enforcement.
“Journalists Are Our Professional Colleagues”
Ajayi described journalists as the DSS’s “professional colleagues,” noting that the key difference between both parties lies in their function.
“I call you guys our professional colleagues. The only difference is that, while you inform the public, we inform the Government,” he said, adding that DSS intelligence remains classified until the agency decides otherwise.
The directive signals a renewed push toward judicial process and human-rights compliance under Ajayi’s leadership, with operatives expected to steer clear of using arrest powers in disputes that are fundamentally civil in nature.
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