The Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the agency not to arrest anyone over civil matters.
According to The Sun, Ajayi said this in a media interview on Thursday, noting that the decision was part of a plan to promote the rule of law and improve the agency’s human rights record.
The DSS chief stated that since taking office, he has implemented reforms in five major areas: law enforcement, inter-agency cooperation, accountability, respect for human rights, and infrastructural and administrative improvements to improve operational efficiency.
According to him, the reforms had also resulted in a clearer demarcation between civil and criminal cases within the agency.
Ajayi stated that his career experience had shown that the DSS previously conflated the two areas, stressing that the use of force was inappropriate in civil disputes.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” he said.
He mentioned the case of political economist Prof. Pat Utomi, who was accused of attempting to construct a “shadow government,” claiming that the DSS chose to seek judicial interpretation rather than arrest him.
“Rather than arrest him, we sought judicial interpretation. And the Court ruled that his adventure was unconstitutional, illegal, and a threat to national security,” he added.
He also mentioned the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, which filed a lawsuit after two DSS agents allegedly stormed its facilities.
Ajayi stated that the matter was pursued in court without any arrests and that the court ultimately awarded SERAP more than N100 million.
Speaking on whether the DSS now resorts to the courts in civil matters, Ajayi replied, “Yes. I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case. 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.”
