Internal security analyst Ahmed Isa has voiced strong support for the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, in his advocacy for community-based security.
Isa described the approach as aligned with global best practices.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Isa backed Ajayi’s recent comments during a security conference, where he emphasised that it is unrealistic to expect the Nigerian Army, police, and DSS to protect every Nigerian.
According to Isa, these remarks reflect a deeper frustration with Nigeria’s ongoing security challenges.
Isa noted that some critics have misinterpreted Ajayi’s message, turning it into a joke, but stressed that the DSS DG is advocating for a more inclusive, modern, and adaptive security model, not promoting a “jungle-justice” approach.
The security expert pointed out that it is impractical to expect Nigeria’s stretched security forces to cover the vast number of states and local governments in the country.
He argued that the scale and complexity of modern security threats, from banditry to terrorism and cybercrime, necessitate a more community-oriented, grassroots security strategy.
He said, “The DSS’s boss comment doesn’t signal despair but a genuine strategy that builds resilience from the locals.
“The idea that communities should be involved in their own security is not a radical dereliction of duty—it is consistent with successful models around the world.
“For instance, countries like the United States of America still have Federal Security Agencies but have community based policing as complementary. So why won’t Nigeria have neighbourhood watches, local vigilante groups, and community-police partnerships that would work in villages, given that they have better knowledge of their terrain.
“What Mr. Ajayi is proposing, is not arming civilians with sticks, but equipping communities with the intelligence, awareness, coordination, and legal backing to play a proactive role. Even in instances where communities possess some level of ammunition, guidance, profiling and authorization are key.
Read Also: Labour Party alerts police, DSS over alleged NLC plot to invade national secretariat
“Subjects in criticism are either totally ignorant of the proposed approach or are on hidden sinister vendetta against the Intelligence Service and are leveraging a simple patriotic alarm, to wrongly suggest that the DSS chief wants to offload the government’s constitutional duty. Forgetting to add that he also explicitly called for collaboration: for elites to engage their communities and partner with security agencies.
“Lamenting the president’s foreign travels or comparing Mr. Ajayi’s initiative to an abandonment of duty is a baseless distraction.
“Strategic leadership requires vision, delegation, and reform. DSS is recognizing that if you wait until a threat reaches your door step, you’ve already failed. By empowering local communities, he’s advocating pre-emptive protection and not reactive policing.
“Nigeria’s security problems long predate the APC and even democracy itself. While the party has not fulfilled all its promises, attributing every challenge to APC-era governance oversimplifies a complex issue. Insecurity is as much a product of global arms proliferation, regional instability, climate migration, and socio-economic despair as it is about political leadership.
“Shutting down the DSS is not a solution—it is a provocation. In a time when citizens yearn for leadership, the worst anyone can propose dismantling one of the few institutions positioned to respond to emerging threats.
“What’s needed is not destruction, but reform of the total security structure of the nation, investment, and more inclusive partnerships involving the locals. The DSS is, however, not waving a white flag but simply sounding an alarm and inviting Nigerians to be part of the answer.”
