State Security Service (Nigeria)
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Annual budget | Classified |
Agency executive |
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Website | www |
The State Security Service (SSS), self-styled as the Department of State Services (DSS),[1] is a security agency in Nigeria and one of three successor organisations to the National Security Organization (NSO). The agency is under the Presidency of Nigeria, and it reports its activities direct to the President, office of the ONSA, headquartered in Abuja.
Mandate
The mission of the SSS is to protect and defend the
Its main responsibilities are within the country and include
History
Fulfilling one of the promises made in his first national address as president, Ibrahim Babangida in June 1986 issued Decree Number 19, dissolving the National Security Organization (NSO) and re-structuring Nigeria's security services into three separate entities under the Office of the Co-ordinator of National Security. The State Security Service (SSS) was made responsible for domestic intelligence, with Director General Ismaila Gwarzo and Deputy Director Lt. Col. A.K. Togun. The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) handled external intelligence and counterintelligence. The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) was responsible for military-related intelligence outside and inside Nigeria.[2] The first headquarters of the agency was located at 15, Awolowo road, Ikoyi in Lagos; this site currently houses the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The SSS headquarters was finally moved to Abuja during the regime of General Sani Abacha, the headquarters complex is informally known as the "Yellow House", it is located on the northern edge of the three-arms zone on Aso drive in Maitama, Abuja.[citation needed]
According to the 1998 Presidential Proclamation, the SSS operates as a department within the Ministry of Defence and its under the control of the
In an exclusive report on September 29, 2020, Peoples Gazette reported lengthy details exposing nepotism and favouritism in the recruitment of personnel of the State Security Service led by Bichi, the report became known as the "SSS recruitment scandal". The report cited many sources, including serving personnel of the agency, who gave figures of how the agency neglected the official procedures for recruitment to favour individuals from the local government area of the director-general and the Northern region of Nigeria against the Southern region.[3][4] Leaders across the Southern and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria criticised the process and threatened to sue the State Security Service and the director-general for it.[5][6]
Director-Generals of the SSS
Director-generals of the SSS | Terms of Service |
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Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo
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June 1986 – September 1990 |
Chief Albert Horsfall | September 1990 – October 1992 |
Chief Peter Nwaoduah | October 1992 – June 1998 |
Colonel Kayode Are (Rtd) | May 1999 – August 2007 |
Afakriya Gadzama | August 2007 – September 2010 |
Ita Ekpeyong | September 2010 – July 2015 |
Lawal Musa Daura | July 2015 – August 2018 |
Matthew Seiyefa (Ag) | 7 August 2018 – 14 September 2018 |
Yusuf Magaji Bichi | 14 September 2018 – Present |
Operations
Successes
The SSS has been reasonably successful in performing its primary internal security responsibility. The agency in its early day was credited with the arrest of the Egyptian bomber Omar Mohammed Ali Rezaq in 1993 while he was trying to enter Nigeria through the Nigeria–Benin border. Rezaq was wanted by the United States for leading the bombing of an EgyptAir plane for the Abu Nidal group in 1985 he was subsequently rendered to the United States after an official request was received from the State Department. [7]
In October 2010, the SSS intercepted a large cache of arms and ammunition originating from Iran at the Apapa port in
The agency has also been reported to have infiltrated a number of religious extremist groups in the country including the
The SSS has also recorded some successes in combating kidnapping in Nigeria with the arrest of some kidnappers and the rescue of their victims. In October 2011, the agency rescued the Parish Priest of St Bernard's
Criticisms
The SSS has been criticised for allowing
The agency was also criticized heavily in the wake of 26 August 2011
In early November 2011, the Nigerian press ran stories alleging that the United States government had issued a travel advisory on Nigeria.[13] The travel advisory according to the papers included the threat of bomb attacks at major hotels in Abuja frequented by expatriates. The story immediately generated panic among the populace and accusations of incompetence made against the security agencies, the SSS inclusive. The story also alleged that the American ambassador had given a statement explaining that the US had given the warning directly because the Nigerian security agencies had failed to act on previous intelligence shared with them. In the end, the situation was only brought under control when the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Andrew Azazi demanded evidence that the Americans had indeed given such a warning or that the American Ambassador had actually said what had been attributed to him in the press.[14] The story turned out to be false, the threat to hotels was actually an intelligence analysis of possible threats made by the SSS some months earlier which was circulated in government circles. The SSS had failed to manage information in a timely and proper fashion which had led to the public losing confidence in the organisation.
Casualties
The agency has lost a number of operatives in the line of duty, while fatalities are not generally publicised some cases do get a mention in the media. During Nigeria's 50th anniversary celebrations in Abuja on 1 October 2010, a car bomb killed an Assistant Director of the agency and Mr Tahir Zakari Biu an
In February 2013, the SSS broke up a terrorist cell led by Iranian handlers that was gathering intelligence for future attacks on American and Israeli targets in the country.[18]
Weapons and equipment
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
As of 2010, the standard issue assault rifles used by SSS Combat Operatives/Security Protection Officers (S.P.O) are the
The agency has also deployed van mounted
Due to the disproportionately large
The agency maintains a fleet of
]See also
- National Intelligence Agency (NIA) – Responsible for Foreign intelligence and counterintelligence operations
- Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) – Responsible for military intelligence.
References
- ^ "Fact-Check: How Nigeria's secret police, SSS, is violating the law and illegally parading itself as DSS - Premium Times Nigeria". 26 August 2016.
- ^ Nowa Omoigui. "Nigeria: The Palace Coup of August 27, 1985 Part II". Urhobo Historical Society. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
- ^ Hillary Essien;Idris Ibrahim (29 September 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: SSS DG Bichi conducts secret, uneven recruitment; North: 535; South: 93". Peoples Gazette.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "DSS Director-General, Bichi, Conducts Secret, Uneven Recruitment Into Agency With North Getting 535 Slots, South 93". Sahara Reporters. 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Tackle Buhari over Lopsided Recruitment By DSS". This Day. 30 September 202.
- ^ "Lopsided recruitment: Southern, Middle Belt leaders blast DSS D-G". Vanguard Newspaper. 30 September 2020.
- ^ Derek, KJF, blackmax. "Torture, Rendition, and other Abuses against Captives in US Custody". historycommons.org. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link] - ^ Vanguard Newspapers. "Arms Seizure – Iran Behind Shipment – Security Agents". allafrica.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Osagie Otabor. "SSS rescues kidnapped Catholic Priest". thenationonlineng.net. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ www.africansinamericanewswatch.com. "Nigerian Terrorist Attempt to Bomb US Airline: Critical Family and National Questions". africansinamericanewswatch.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ www.allafrica.com. "UN House Bombing – Boko Haram Claims Responsibility". Vanguard Newspapers. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Kingsley Omonobi; Daniel Idonor; Ikechukwu Nnochiri. "Boko Haram to mark nation's independence with bombings". vanguardngr.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Seyi Gesinde; James Bwala. "US warns of fresh bomb blast in Abuja •Asks officials to stay away from luxury hotels •As UN condemns terrorist attacks, killings in Nigeria •Pope calls for end to violence". tribune.com.ng. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "NSA Azazi Dismisses US Terror Warning Over Abuja Luxury Hotels". nigerianewsdaily.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Nigeria media filled with stories on security breaches at Nigeria@50". panapress.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Mahmud Jega. "CP Zakari Biu – Down, Up and Down Again". daily Trust Newspapers. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ "The Profile Of Theodore Ahamefule Orji". myinfobell.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Nigeria busts terror cell plotting attack on Israelis". The Times of Israel. AP. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Beegeagle's Blog. "NIGERIA: STATE SECURITY SERVICE IN PICTURES". beegeagle.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- Some material for this article was derived from the Nigeria Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 30 January 1998.