- President Tinubu recently appointed Adeola Ajayi as the Director General of DSS to succeed Yusuf Bichi
- TheRadar provides the full list of DSS directors from 1979 to date
- The past director-generals of DSS include Yusuf Bichi, Matthew Seiyefa, Lawal Daura, Ita Ekpenyong, Kayode Are, and Abdullahi Mohammed
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently appointed a new Director-General of the Department of State Security Services on Monday, August 26, 2024. Mr Adeola Ajayi was appointed to succeed Yusuf Bichi, who has been in office since 2018. He has previously served as state director in Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi.
President Tinubu remarks that the new security chiefs will “work assiduously to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results and charge them to bring their experience to bear in tackling the security challenges bedeviling the country through enhanced collaboration with sister agencies and in surgical alignment with the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
According to a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, “The new appointments follow the resignation of the previous NIA and DSS chiefs,”. The statement was titled, "President Tinubu appoints new Directors-General of NIA, DSS.”
The State Security Service (SSS) or Department of State Services (DSS) has its roots in pre-colonial Nigeria. It formally came into existence in 1948 with the establishment of the then “E” Department (Special Branch) domiciled in the Office of the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force.
The NSO Decree No.16 (1976) by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo witnessed the establishment of the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO), which came in the wake of the security challenges posed by the 1976 abortive coup. General Ibrahim Babangida re-organised the NSO through Decree no 19 of 1986 also known as National Security Agencies (NSA) Decree, 1986. This witnessed the establishment of the State Security Service (SSS), the Defence Intelligence Service (DIS),
At the inception of General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in 1985, he overhauled and reorganised the NSO through Decree No. 19 of 1986, also known as the National Security Agencies (NSA) Decree, 1986. This exercise witnessed the emergence of three (3) separate establishments namely the State Security Service (SSS), the Defence Intelligence Service (DIS), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). These bodies have continued to promote democracy in Nigeria since the transition of Nigeria to a democratic government in 1999.
DSS directors from 1979 to date
TheRadar provides the list of DSS Directors from 1979 till date:
1. Yusuf Magaji Bichi (September 2018)
Bichi is the incumbent Director-General of The Department of State Security Services. He is an expert in conflict management, risk and vulnerability assessment, human resource management, investigation, and protective operations. He studied at the National Defence College, where he was awarded a Fellow of the War College (FWC) in 2007.
He had previously served in different capacities, which includes The State Director of Security (SDS) in Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, and Abia States. He also served as a Director in all the National Headquarters Directorates, namely, Security Enforcement, Operations, Intelligence, Inspectorate, Administration and Finance, National Assembly Liaison, and the State Services Academy, Lagos, one of the training institutions of the Service.
2. Matthew Seiyefa (August 2018-September 2018)
Seiyefa served as the Director-General of DSS in 2018. He was appointed by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the acting president, following the sack of Lawal Musa Daura. He was removed from office by erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari and replaced with Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
3. Lawal Musa Daura (July 2015 - August 2018)
Daura received his educational training from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Nigeria. He joined the National Security Organization (NSO) in 1982, which was later replaced in 1986 by military head of state General Ibrahim Babangida with the State Security Service (SSS).
He eventually became the Director-General of DSS in 2015 but was sacked by Osinbajo on August 12, 2018, in connection with a security siege at the opposition-led National Assembly.
4. Ita Ekpenyong (September 2010 - July 2015)
Ekpeyong was appointed Director General of the State Security Service on September 7, 2010, by President Goodluck Jonathan. He was perceived as likely to improve the public perception of the SSS, which has been negative in the past. In his words "The frontiers of security management have moved away from the culture of impunity to the friendly frontiers of the rule of law, due process, civility, and professionalism ... Democratic changes and their attributes, such as due process, rule of law and respect for human rights, have become very important for us”
5. Afakriya Gadzama (August 2007 - September 2010)
He has served in different positions at the State Security Service as Director of Security, Plateau State (1989–1991), Director of Security, Federal Capital Territory (1991–1993), Director of Security, Kaduna (1993–1997), Director of Operations, SSS National Headquarters (1997–1998), Director of Programmes, SSS National Headquarters 1999, Director of Intelligence (2001–2002), Director of Operations (2002–2003), Director of Administration and Logistics, National Headquarters (2004–2005), Director of Corporate Services, National Headquarters (2006–2007).
He was appointed as Director General of the agency in August 2007 by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. Gadzama was instrumental in President Yar'adua's Amnesty Program for militants in the Niger Delta region. In September 2010, he was replaced by Ita Ekpeyong.
6. Colonel Kayode Are (May 1999 - August 2007)
Kayode Are is a retired Nigerian Army Colonel who was Director General of the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) from 1999 to 2007 and served as National Security Adviser in 2010. He had previously served as an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence until retirement. He was appointed as Director-General of the State Security Service by President Olusegun Obasanjo and served in the two terms of Erstwhile President Obasanjo (1999-2007).
7. Peter Nwaoduah (October 1992 - 1998)
He was Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) under General Sani Abacha from 1992-1998, taking orders from Major Hamza al-Mustapha. His appointment was considered well deserved because of General Sani Abacha’s legacy of meritorious appointments during his tenure. Nwaoduah was one among many southerners appointed by Abacha.
8. Chief Albert Horsfall (September 1990-October 1992)
Horsfall is a Nigerian former high-ranking security and intelligence official. He was a police officer and pioneer member of the National Security Organization (NSO). Horsfall joined the NSO as an officer under the first Director-General, Colonel Abdullahi Mohammed. In 1997, he established his law firm, Horsfall and Company, as a legal consultancy firm.
9. Ismaila Gwarzo (August 1986-June 1990)
He is a retired Nigerian high-ranking security and intelligence official. He was a police officer and the first Director of the State Security Service, Minister of Police Affairs, and was also the National Security Adviser to Head of State Sani Abacha. In June 1986, Gwarzo was appointed by General Ibrahim Babangida as Director-General of the newly formed State Security Service (SSS), responsible for domestic intelligence. His Deputy Director was Lt. Colonel A.K. Togun.
10. Mohammed Rafin (1984-1985)
He was a Nigerian diplomat and security chief from Katsina state. Also, he was the Pioneer intelligence officer in the Research Department (RD) of the Foreign Ministry. He served as Nigeria's Ambassador to West Germany between 1981 and 1983 and later as the third Director-General of DSS.
11. Umaru Shinkafi (1979-1983)
He studied at the University of Lagos and went to the Nigerian Law School. He joined the Nigerian police force in 1959, after passing through the police college in Kaduna. He was a Federal Commissioner of Internal Affairs in 1975 and later became the head of the National Security Organization in 1979.
12. Abdullahi Mohammed (1976-1979)
Abdullahi Mohammed is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as Chief of Staff to presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar'Adua from 1999 to 2008. He was the National Security Adviser to General Abdusalami Abubakar from 1998 to 1999, Director General of the National Security Organization from 1976 to 1979, and Governor of Benue-Plateau State, Nigeria, from July 1975 to February 1976, during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed.
DSS denies raiding NLC headquarters in Abuja
Meanwhile, TheRadar previously reported DSS’s denial of the raiding of NLC headquarters in Abuja. This was disclosed in a statement made by Dr Peter Afunanya, a spokesperson of the DSS, in response to the NLC's claims made on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
According to NLC, the operatives reached the Labour House at about 8:30 PM on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, and labelled the action as threatening the nation’s democracy.
Benson Upah, the NLC head of Media and Public Relations, said the NLC remained in shock and had ordered all employees to stay out of the office.
