The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the agency not to arrest anyone over civil matters.
Ajayi disclosed this in a media interview published Thursday, saying the directive was part of efforts to improve adherence to the rule of law and the agency’s human rights record.
Since assuming office, he said he has implemented reforms in five broad areas: “law enforcement, synergy, accountability in what we do as a Service, respect for Human Rights, and infrastructural/administrative reforms to enhance operational efficiency”.
According to him, the DSS under his leadership has now clearly separated civil matters from criminal matters.
“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” Ajayi said.
He cited examples including the case against Prof. Pat Utomi over an alleged “shadow government”, and the case involving SERAP which accused DSS operatives of invading its premises.
“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 said of Utomi.
“With SERAP, they approached the court, on my approval. Throughout the process, nobody was arrested, and the court awarded over N100 million in their favour.”
On the case involving Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, Ajayi said: “Even from day one, when he went to court, the court asked whether we objected to his bail, and we said no because we hadn’t arrested him in the first place.”
Asked if the agency now goes to court for civil matters, the DSS DG 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.
“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.”
