New facts have come out on why the Nigerian government dismissed 115 officers of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Reliable security sources who spoke to Punch said the officers were found guilty of offences capable of undermining the integrity of the service.
According to them, the offences included fraudulent practices, acts of indiscipline, and certificate forgeries.
“Some of them even leaked official information, which is a serious offence,” an insider said.
The DSS had, on Tuesday, announced the dismissal of the officers in a statement on X, warning members of the public to desist from any official dealings with them.
The secret police published the photos and dates of dismissal of the affected personnel.
A top officer knowledgeable about the matter told Punch that the current Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi, was “cleansing the service.”
“I am aware that some of the dismissed officers were fast becoming rogues and threatening the integrity of the service. The DSS doesn’t joke with its integrity. Some complaints were filed against these officers by outsiders, and after investigations and disciplinary measures, they were found guilty of the allegations.
“The current DSS DG doesn’t tolerate indiscipline. He is trying to reform the service and restore it to what it used to be. What is happening now is the cleansing of the system.
“A bulk of the cases were disciplinary matters. Some officers were queried during the last DG’s tenure without punishment, while others received minor sanctions. But when they committed the same offences again, the current DG asked them to go. Some of these offences are not new, but the officers might have thought it was business as usual. What is playing out is an effort to restore discipline, sanity, and integrity to the service,” the source said.
Some of those dismissed were said to have travelled abroad in search of greener pastures without proper resignation from the service.
An insider said: “About 15 to 20 per cent of them are no longer in the country. They were dismissed for improper resignation. The DG wants to instil a stronger sense of discipline and discourage attitudes that were previously overlooked.”
A senior official said some of the dismissed officers were employed with Arabic institute certificates.
“These are bad eggs. They used forged birth certificates for employment. Some also attended schools in Benin Republic for only four months and presented the certificates as degrees. Others even used mosque certificates as equivalents of a degree.
“It is not possible for people who are not truthful about themselves to work in this service. They are complicit in many things; that is why their names and photos were published. They are trained personnel, and the government is watching them to ensure they don’t use the agency’s name to perpetrate illicit acts. That is why their photos were released—so that people will not have dealings with them.”