Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, represents a distinctive breed of intelligence chief: calm, measured, civil and deeply respectful of the rule of law.Yet, beneath his unassuming demeanour lies a resolute intelligence professional whose leadership has produced remarkable results in the nation’s fight against threats to national security.
In 36 years of service, Ajayi has seen virtually every dimension of Nigeria’s security challenges. He joined the DSS as a cadet and steadily rose through the ranks, acquiring experience across the intelligence and security architecture before reaching the pinnacle of the Service. In doing so, he made history as the first cadet of the DSS to rise to the position of Director-General.
On Friday, August 28, 2026, Ajayi marked two years as Director-General. To commemorate the milestone, he opened the doors of the Service to senior editors for an unusually candid, no-holds-barred conversation. For editors, it was an opportunity to engage one of Nigeria’s most closely guarded intelligence figures on issues that rarely come into the public domain.
In this wide-ranging interview, Ajayi speaks frankly about Nigeria’s protracted battle against terrorism and insurgency, offering insights into what drives and sustains terrorist groups and why some security challenges have proved so difficult to defeat. He also argues for a fundamental rebirth in the nation’s approach to law enforcement, stressing the importance of strict adherence to the law in confronting criminality and insecurity.
