A legal practitioner and human rights advocate, Hamza N. Dantani, Esq., has called on security agencies across Nigeria to emulate the Department of State Services (DSS) by compensating innocent citizens who are wrongly arrested, unlawfully detained, or harmed during security operations.  Dantani made the call while commending the Director-General of the DSS, Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, for what he described as a bold and unprecedented decision to compensate victims of wrongful arrests and operational errors. 

He said the initiative demonstrates that while security agencies have a constitutional duty to safeguard the nation, they also have a moral and legal obligation to acknowledge mistakes and provide redress to innocent citizens whose rights have been violated.  According to him, the fight against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes should never come at the expense of justice or respect for fundamental human rights. 

“The DSS initiative has shown that institutions can admit and correct their mistakes without compromising operational effectiveness,” he said, adding that such accountability would strengthen public confidence and reinforce the principle that no authority is above the law.

 Dantani cited several publicly known beneficiaries of the compensation initiative, including Nura Idris, a Kaduna-based farmer and herder who received ₦3 million after being wrongly linked to Boko Haram; Umar Ibrahim, Alhaji Bello Rabiu, and Jaja Sarki Bamo, who shared a compensation package after being mistakenly arrested over allegations of banditry and kidnapping; and Chineze Ozoadibe, an Abuja-based businesswoman who was awarded ₦10 million following her wrongful arrest over allegations of oil bunkering. 

He also referenced a Sokoto-based trader who was mistakenly shot during a 2016 security operation in Jos and later received ₦20 million, comprising court-awarded damages, an additional goodwill payment, and lifetime healthcare.

 He further mentioned 11 artisans from Osun State who were cleared of terrorism-related allegations and compensated. 

According to Dantani, these are only a few of the publicly known cases, noting that many other innocent Nigerians may have suffered similar injustices without receiving public recognition or compensation. 

He observed that wrongful arrest and unlawful detention often result in the loss of liberty, employment, businesses, reputation, and peace of mind, while families also endure emotional and financial hardship.  Although monetary compensation cannot fully restore lost time or erase emotional trauma, he said it remains an important acknowledgment of injustice and the state’s willingness to accept responsibility for its actions.

 Dantani urged the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and other law enforcement agencies to adopt similar compensation measures whenever investigations establish that innocent citizens have been wrongly arrested, unlawfully detained, or injured during official operations.

 He also called on security agencies to strengthen their operational procedures by ensuring that arrests are based on credible intelligence and verified evidence, improving identity verification processes, investing in technology and forensic investigations, enhancing inter-agency intelligence sharing, and providing regular human rights training for personnel. 

In addition, he advocated strict compliance with constitutional safeguards, the establishment of independent internal review mechanisms to investigate complaints of wrongful arrest and unlawful detention, and accountability for officers found culpable of negligence or abuse of power.

 “Arrest should never be treated as punishment, and detention should never become a substitute for proper investigation,” he said. 

Commending the DSS Director-General for what he described as exemplary leadership, Dantani expressed hope that the initiative would usher in a new era in which all security agencies embrace accountability, uphold constitutional rights, and ensure that innocent citizens affected by operational errors receive justice and appropriate compensation.

 He added that the true measure of a nation’s justice system lies not only in its ability to punish offenders but also in its willingness to protect the innocent and correct its mistakes whenever they occur.