The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, has directed operatives of the agency not to arrest individuals over civil matters.

Ajayi said the directive was part of reforms introduced under his leadership to strengthen adherence to the rule of law, improve accountability and enhance respect for human rights within the agency.

Speaking in a media interview on Thursday, the DSS director-general said the reforms focused on five key areas: law enforcement, inter-agency collaboration, accountability, human rights and infrastructural and administrative development.

He said the reforms had also helped the agency draw a clearer line between civil and criminal matters, noting that his experience showed that the DSS had previously blurred the distinction.

“You cannot apply the use of force in civil matters. Even some criminal matters don’t require force,” Ajayi said.

He cited the case involving political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, over allegations surrounding an attempt to establish a “shadow government”.

According to Ajayi, rather than arrest Utomi, the DSS sought judicial interpretation of the matter, with the court subsequently ruling that the alleged “adventure” was unconstitutional, illegal and a threat to national security.

He also cited a case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which had approached the court over allegations that two DSS operatives invaded its premises.

Ajayi said the agency opted to resolve the matter through the courts without making any arrests, adding that the court eventually awarded more than N100 million in favour of SERAP.

Asked whether the DSS now relies on the courts in civil matters, Ajayi answered in the affirmative and reiterated his directive to operatives.

“I have told my people that there should be no arrest in any civil case,” he said.

Ajayi added that the DSS would also prefer judicial intervention in cases involving journalists, describing journalists as the agency’s “professional colleagues”.

“The only difference is that, while you inform the public, we inform the government. And because we inform the government, our information is classified until we declassify it,” he said.