President Bola Tinubu as congratulated the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, on his recognition by the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute as a champion of press freedom.
Mr Ajayi received a commendation award at the Annual Conference of the International Press Institute, held on December 2, 2025, in Abuja.
In its citation, the IPI said, “Since he was appointed Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) in late August 2024, Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi has demonstrated an unmistakable commitment to press freedom and respect for journalists and media organisations.”
The organisation added that the recognition was intended “not only to acknowledge his commendable press freedom credentials but also to encourage him to do even more and to inspire other officials, institutions, and organisations to emulate his example.”
President Tinubu, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said he welcomed the award and commended the DSS Director-General for ensuring press freedom, upholding citizens’ rights and discharging his duties within the bounds of the law.
The President said the DSS, under Mr Ajayi’s leadership, was changing the narrative of hostility towards members of the press and fostering an atmosphere of dialogue and robust engagement with the wider civil populace.
President Tinubu also urged other security agencies and public officials to emulate the example of the DSS by engaging the media as partners rather than adversaries.
He further encouraged the DSS leadership to sustain the momentum and continue to promote an enabling environment for journalists and media practitioners to carry out their professional duties, in line with constitutional provisions empowering the media to hold public officials to account.
The Guardian reports that in a release on December 2, 2025, the IPI had detailed reasons for honouring Ajayi with the press freedom award. According to the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI), Mr Ajayi had “demonstrated an unmistakable commitment to press freedom and respect for journalists and media organisations”, marking a departure from past practices associated with the security agency.
The organisation noted that previous years were characterised by “serial harassment, intimidation, and arrests of journalists” by the SSS. It noted, however, that under Mr Ajayi’s leadership, the Service has shown restraint, professionalism and openness to dialogue, with disputes involving journalists now being resolved through engagement rather than coercion.
The IPI cited several instances to illustrate what it described as a transformation in approach. It recalled that barely hours after Mr Ajayi assumed office, a journalist, Mr Adejuwon Soyinka, was intercepted and detained in Lagos. The organisation said that following its intervention, the Director-General directed the Lagos Command to release the journalist immediately.
The statement also referred to the long-running case of Mr Lanre Arogundade, an IPI member who had been placed on the DSS watchlist since the 1980s and subjected to repeated difficulties at Nigeria’s borders. According to IPI Nigeria, despite earlier assurances by previous administrations, his name remained on the list until Mr Ajayi assumed office. It said that after receiving a formal complaint, the DSS chief acted swiftly to ensure that Mr Arogundade’s name was permanently removed from the watchlist.
Another case noted involved Order Paper, a newspaper that had published an inaccurate report alleging that the DSS invaded the National Assembly to facilitate the removal of Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The DSS arrested a staff member of the newspaper, but the IPI said that upon being notified, Mr Ajayi ordered that the journalist be granted administrative bail. It added that through constructive engagement, the matter was resolved, all charges filed in court were withdrawn, and the case was closed.
The organisation also disclosed that Mr Ajayi intervened in a separate case involving a journalist who was arrested in connection with a personal matter unrelated to journalism. The journalist reportedly took ill while in detention. Acting on what it described as humanitarian grounds, IPI Nigeria sought the Director-General’s intervention, which resulted in the journalist’s release.
In February 2025, the SSS accused several media organisations of publishing false reports on its role in the Lagos State House of Assembly crisis. The IPI said that although the agency was aggrieved, Mr Ajayi chose to work “patiently and collaboratively” with the organisation. According to the statement, the DSS provided evidence that it had been invited by the Assembly leadership to secure the complex, and the disagreement was resolved amicably without confrontation.
The IPI further noted that in October 2025, Mr Ajayi ordered disciplinary action against officers involved in the arrest and detention of two journalists from Jay 101.9 FM, a private radio station in Jos. It said the DSS subsequently issued a formal apology to the journalists and their organisation, adding that the intervention was initiated by the Director-General without prompting from IPI Nigeria.
“For these and other reasons, we are honouring Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi today,” the organisation said. “We do so not only to acknowledge his commendable press freedom credentials but also to encourage him to do even more, and to inspire other officials, institutions, and organisations to emulate his example.”
