Mr. Mike Ejiofor is former Director of DSS. He told ODITA SUNDAY and AFOLAKE ADEDAYO that the DSS needs the cooperation of Nigerians, as they are not magicians.

Few weeks ago, we learnt that the DSS officials were pursuing oil thieves and some of them were ambushed and killed. Are the DSS supposed to wear uniform or vest and be so visible?
WELL, the ones who wear uniforms are a special intervention squad brought by the former administration. They are typically for quick intervention in areas, where you fail to get quick responses due to bureaucracy. It is a squad you can use to intervene. It would be improper for people to be carrying arms without being identified, because if you arrest anyone without uniform and carrying arms, people might mistake the agent for an armed robber, so they have to be identified. Even in America, we have such intervention squads, who go about with complimentary cards. The major problem is that there is nothing so secret about it, because they live with other people. How long would they hide? Are they not members of the society? Don’t they have families? They all do. For depth of operation, this special group was created for quick intervention. The uniform is worn for public identification.

What do you think are the challenges of the DSS to really carry out their statutory duties?
Well, the major challenges are getting cooperation from the members of the public. Even if information can be got from the social media, we also need information from members of the public. The true work of intelligence gathering is that intelligence officers are not magicians; they work by information provided by the members of the public.

Do you think they are well funded by the government?
No security agency is well funded by the government, but there is an improvement in the funding of security agencies. DSS is not an exception. We have a lot of security challenges; so, government has to put more effort, not just in monetary terms, but also in providing technological assistance to the staff. We cannot also say they are well staffed because even the police force are over 200,000 and they are still not sufficient, let alone, DSS, that are less than 60,000. But government cannot just recruit without budgeting and planning for the salary of upcoming staff. It is a major challenge. If you would agree with me, during the military regime, they were not concerned about sound security, all they wanted was protection and how they wouldn’t be overthrown. With the advent of democracy, it has more challenges. Talk of kidnapping, insurgency, robbery etc. So, there are many challenges associated with democracy.

Police complains that DSS arrest and parade suspects. Are they supposed to be doing that?
You agree with me that all these security functions are interwoven. There is no clear line in terms of their responsibility. At times, the police will do the work of DSS, while they also do the work of the police. This act is not supposed to be in the public domain, but it is done everywhere. The best thing for the security agencies is for them to complement one another, not superiority complex that has become the order of the day. For instance, National Security and Civil Defense Corps is statutorily in charge of the policing of pipelines, but you see police, DSS, Army all assisting. This is called assistance, which must take place among them.

What are the new things that can be brought on board to have a 21st century intelligence-gathering agency?
Intelligence gathering is not about the number of people, who are involved, but it about technology. We talk of the need for a lot of equipment for surveillance and communication. If not for all this, arm robbers cannot be tracked down. We are moving at our own pace. People fail to understand that security success should not be taken as an isolation of other success. What is the state of power? Where are we? What of employment? Is every Nigerian employed? Every Nigerian is not employed. We don’t have power so;even though, there are changes being made by this government. So, we should not isolate security operatives. It is the collective responsibility of all to ensure that things are done right and not just the DSS or the police.

No security agency is well funded by the government, but there is an improvement in the funding of security agencies. DSS is not an exception. We have a lot of security challenges; so, government has to put more effort, not just in monetary terms, but also in providing technological assistance to the staff. We cannot also say they are well staffed because even the police force are over 200,000 and they are still not sufficient, let alone, DSS, that are less than 60,000. But government cannot just recruit without budgeting and planning for the salary of upcoming staff. It is a major challenge. If you would agree with me, during the military regime, they were not concerned about sound security, all they wanted was protection and how they wouldn’t be overthrown.

Do you think the DSS is keying into the change mantra of the present administration?
They are doing it. The president has reshuffled some of the security heads. The best way to assess is that people within the squad assess themselves, not people from outside assessing them, because they know themselves and their capabilities.
To what extent is rivalry among security agencies affecting the system?

To a large extent, it is hindering the policing of Nigeria. There should be joint training for security agencies. The rivalry, as a matter of fact, is majorly among the junior officers, not the top officials. For instance, there was a training programme at Abuja where all the security agencies were represented. They should see themselves as a team and working together. That is one of the best ways to solve the rivalry. They are working for the same interest — Nigeria.