The Acting Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Mr Matthew Seiyefa, has disclosed that the service is reviewing all cases of alleged unlawful detentions and human rights abuses made against the service.
Seiyefa, stated this on Wednesday during his maiden interaction with journalists in Abuja.
He was appointed acting Director -General of the DSS on Wednesday by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo after sacking the former Director-General, Lawal Daura, for unauthorised deployment of DSS operatives to block the National Assembly complex.
According to Seiyefa, the DSS will remain focused and professional in protecting national interest.
He said, “We are reviewing all issues that have brought about unhealthy perceptions about the service in recent times including detentions and perceived human rights abuses.
“We will respect the rights of groups or individuals as long as they are legitimate. We will work on the basis of our core roles and mandate which are the detection and prevention of threats against the internal security of Nigeria.
“We will not tolerate the abuse of freedom of Nigerians and we will not be intimidated nor cowed as we will protect our mandate.”
He assured that the service would work to promote and protect the national interests and not individual or sectional agenda.
Seiyefa also said that the service would do its best to diffuse the perception about the DSS, adding that it was critical to the security architecture of the country.
He said he would also redouble its efforts to improve on intelligence gathering and analysis to guide policy formulation and security management.
He promised to partner with other security agencies and relevant stakeholders in the country to provide security to the citizenry.
The acting director-general said that the service would discharge its mandate within the tenets of rule of law as obtained globally.
On the continued detention of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki, Seiyefa said it was early to make any definite decision as he was still studying cases before him.
He said that the service would collaborate with the media to project the activities of the service, adding that the appointment of a spokesperson for the service was under “active consideration”.
“The issue of having a spokesperson to respond to media inquiries is under active consideration, he added.
There was no spokesman for the DSS under Daura’s tenure as he refused to appoint anybody to speak for the service
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