The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has ordered operatives of the agency to stop arresting individuals over matters that are strictly civil in nature.
Ajayi disclosed this in a media interview on Thursday, explaining that the directive formed part of reforms introduced under his leadership to strengthen the DSS’s commitment to the rule of law and protect citizens’ rights.
According to the DSS chief, the reforms have been built around five major areas: effective law enforcement, stronger cooperation with other security agencies, accountability, human rights protection, and improvements in the agency’s administrative and physical infrastructure.
Ajayi said one of the major changes under his leadership has been the effort to draw a firm line between civil disputes and criminal offences.
He acknowledged that, in the past, the distinction was not always clear within the agency, but argued that security powers should not be used to settle private disagreements.
He stressed that the involvement of security operatives must be justified by the nature of a case and the powers available to the agency.
Ajayi said using force in civil disputes was unacceptable and could undermine public confidence in security institutions.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters,” Ajayi said, adding that even some criminal cases could be handled without resorting to force.
The DSS director-general pointed to the controversy surrounding political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, as an example of the agency’s changed approach.
Utomi had faced scrutiny over allegations linked to an attempt to establish what was described as a “shadow government”.
Rather than arresting Utomi, Ajayi said the DSS took the matter before the court and requested judicial interpretation.
He said the court subsequently ruled that the proposed arrangement was unconstitutional, illegal and posed a threat to national security.
For Ajayi, the episode demonstrated how legal processes could be used to resolve sensitive matters without unnecessarily resorting to detention or coercive measures.
He also cited a case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, following allegations that two DSS operatives had invaded the organisation’s premises.
According to Ajayi, the agency did not respond to the dispute by making arrests. Instead, the matter was allowed to proceed through the courts, which eventually awarded more than N100 million in favour of SERAP.
The DSS boss said the agency’s willingness to submit contentious issues to judicial scrutiny was part of a broader effort to improve accountability and ensure that its powers were exercised within the law.
He further disclosed that the same principle applied to cases involving journalists.
Ajayi said the DSS would prefer to seek judicial intervention rather than arrest media practitioners when a dispute could be resolved through the courts.
“I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case,” he said, reaffirming the instruction to DSS operatives.
Ajayi described journalists as “professional colleagues”, noting that both journalists and intelligence officers gather and process information for different audiences.
According to him, journalists provide information to the public, while the DSS supplies intelligence to the government.
He, however, explained that intelligence gathered by the agency remains classified until it is formally declassified.
The DSS chief said the reforms were intended to create a security service that operates with greater respect for legal boundaries while retaining its responsibility to protect national security.
The directive is expected to further shape how DSS operatives handle disputes brought before the agency, particularly cases where allegations do not meet the threshold of criminal conduct.