Not a few adult Nigerians alive today, old enough to know what was going on in the
second republic under President Shehu Shagari and the successive military regimes of
Generals Mohammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Babangida, would not want recall with relish,
the ignoble role played by the defunct Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO), the secret
police of those eras, in the human rights abuses, inflicted on many Nigerians by the
agents of the federal government of those times.
Under Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi and later Muhammed Lawal Rafindadi as Directors
General, the NSO, and to a large extent, the Nigeria Police under Sunday Adewusi as
Inspector General, were willing tools in the hands of President Shagari, the then ruling
National Party of Nigeria (NPN), and the successive military governments of Buhari and
Babangida, tormenting perceived opponents of government at will.
Created under Decree number 27 of 1976 by the military regime of Gen. Olusegun
Obasanjo after the failed military coup by Colonel Dimka, which claimed the life of
former Head of State Gen. Murtala Mohammed. The National Security Organisation of
Nigeria or the Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO) as it was widely known was given a
mandate of coordinating internal security, foreign intelligence and counterintelligence
activities. It was charged with the detection and prevention of any crime against the
security of the state, with the protection of classified materials, and with carrying out any
other security missions assigned by the president.
During the time of that military regime, and continuing through the Nigerian Second
Republic, the NSO was accused of carrying out systematic and widespread human
rights abuses, especially of those seen to be critical of the government. One dissident
had famously called them a " Gestapo in Black.”
So notorious and powerful was the NSO, particularly under Buhari’s military regime
(December 31, 1983, to August 27, 1985) that its Director-General, Rafindadi was
reputed to be the third most powerful Nigerian of that era, after the Head of State
(Buhari) and Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters (de facto no.2) General Tunde
Idiagbon.
The NSO spared nobody, especially enemies of the government, both within and outside
the government. Its cells were filled to the brim with mostly innocent detainees. Cases
of extrajudicial killings were rampant in addition to mysterious disappearances of
perceived enemies of the government. Trumped up charges were also slammed against
government critics. Little or no regard was paid to the rule of law and disobedience of
court orders was the order of the day.
Then Chief of Army Staff and later military president, Ibrahim Babangida was not even
immune to NSO’s scrutiny under Buhari. Little wonder then that Rafindadi and his NSO
were the first targets immediately Babangida assumed the reins of power after Buhari’s
overthrow in 1985.
Though Babangida attempted a cosmetic reform of the NSO breaking it into three
separate security entities; State Security Services, SSS (for internal security), National
Intelligence Agency, NIA (for external security) and, Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA
(military Intelligence), little, if anything, changed in the character and mode of operations
of the new security agencies, particularly the SSS; it was more of the same.
Its transition and rebranding from SSS to the Department of State Security (DSS)
notwithstanding, Nigerians are still worried and afraid that the secret police, which at
different times was called the NSO, SSS and lately, DSS, has, like the leopard, refused
to change its spots.
The last twenty years of democracy, from 1999 till date, seem to have done nothing to
enhance the reputation of the DSS and make the security organisation either more
accountable or friendlier to Nigerians. Worst hit by the activities of the security agency
has been the media, opposition politicians and civil society activists, who rightly or
wrongly have been perceived and designated as enemies of the government of the day
by the DSS.
From Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, through Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan
and now Muhammadu Buhari, the DSS has bared its fangs often against innocent
citizens, most of whom were either just asking for their rights or merely exercising their
rights. Though a few had gone beyond just asking for or exercising their rights, the
responses from operatives of the secret police had always been beyond normal,
sometimes resulting in death or permanent disability. There are many examples of this,
especially in the handling of the protests by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, otherwise known as the Shi’ite movement.
The latest in the strings of atrocities by the DSS is its penchant for disobeying legitimate
orders of the courts which is not only an affront to the rule of law, but tends to ridicule
and portray the nation’s judiciary as toothless; only able to bark but not bite.
There are so many prominent detainees in DSS’s cells whose release had been
ordered by the courts but the secret police would not let them go. Sheik Ibrahim El-
Zakzaki, leader of the Shi’ite movement is one of such. So also is a former National
Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki. Their ranks have been swelled by Omoyele
Sowore, a candidate in the February 2019 presidential election. He was the candidate
of the African Action Congress political party in that election and was critical of its
process and outcome that produced President Mohammadu Buhari as the winner, for a
second term in office.
His journey to DSS cell began when he called for mass action against the government
through his organisation called #RevolutionNow. On August 3, a day to the
commencement of the protest, DSS operatives picked Sowore up in Lagos and he has
been with them since. And in spite of many orders of the court for his release, the secret
police are still holding on to him, even after fulfilling the stringent bail conditions
imposed by a federal high court in Abuja where he had been charged with a treasonable
felony by the DSS.
It took a while for Sowore and his legal team to perfect the bail conditions, and when
they thought they had fulfilled the conditions, the DSS moved the goalpost, forcing the
court to give the secret police 24 hours to free him. Few hours after, the DSS complied,
albeit, reluctantly, as its operatives made another bid, the following day, to re-arrest
Sowore.
Bizarrely, the bid was made at the premises of the Abuja court where he was being tried
on a treasonable felony charge, among other charges. Hardly had his trial been adjourned
and as he was making his way out of the courtroom, gun-totting operatives of DSS
swooped on him forcing his retreat into the courtroom, calling on the judge for
protection. The drama that played out, with the court hurriedly adjourning, was captured on phone and the video went viral nationwide, prompting widespread condemnation,
from Nigerians from all walks of life including the international community. So loud was
the condemnation that the National Assembly had to weigh in with the senate instructing
one of its committees to investigate the incident.
If most Nigerians had been indifferent to the activities of DSS especially its treatment of
Sowore, Dasuki, El Zakzaky et al, this brazen act of illegality before the temple of justice
seems to have tested their tolerance of the incessant acts of illegality by the secret
police to the limit and are calling for government action. We share this view.
After the seeming reform of the NSO under then military president, Ibrahim Babangida
that led to the creation of SSS/DSS and other security agencies, perhaps the time is
ripe for another reform of our security agencies to make them more humane,
accountable and responsible in line with modern practices.
While most Nigerians are not interested in the details of their activities, they would want
these security agencies to respect the rule of law, human rights and dignity of all
Nigerians. They would want them not to behave as being above the law and to rein in
the excesses of their operatives and punish them if and when they misuse their powers.
It would not be out of place to subject the secret police to oversight control by the
National Assembly if they are not at present. As a creation of and function of the
executive arm of government, the DSS should not be left to the executive alone to
control, the National Assembly as the representatives of the people should be involved.
This way, the secret police would be answerable and accountable to the people.
The relevant parliamentary committee must have periodic access to its cells and
detention facilities, the same way judges visit correctional facilities to see inmates and
assess their cases and conditions.
In the case of Sowore, it’s gladdening to hear the Attorney General and Minister of
Justice announcing the takeover of his trial from the DSS. The minister should not stop
there. He should also look into and similarly takeover the trials of other high profile
detainees like El Zazaky, Dasuki et al. It is the mishandling of cases like these by the
security agencies and even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
that is giving the country a bad name before Nigerians as well as the international
community.
Most times, the government agencies handling these cases are so inept in their
investigation that they often appear to be shopping for facts after arresting and charging
their suspects to court. This is unacceptable.
The trials and travails of Dasuki, Sowore, El Zazaky and others like them are political,
no matter the spin being put on them by government and they should be solved
employing political solutions. Though they appear intertwined with security matters, the
bottom line is politics. Though their cases are in court, the court would not be averse to
adopting whatever political solution reached by the government. The government could
even withdraw the cases against them so that a line could be drawn under these cases.
And the nation moves forward.
As long as there are pockets of complaints here and there about the government, there
will always be people like Sowore who would call for mass action and even
#RevolutionNow. The only way to counter them is through good governance. High
handed tactics, suppression, intimidation or even incarceration will not stop it or
dissuade any other person or persons annoyed with the government. The government,
whether federal, state or local should learn to be tolerant of critics and criticism.
It is in the light of this that we call for unconditional freedom for Sowore and other
political detainees like him. Let’s draw the line under this and let the nation move
forward. The DSS and other security agencies should also draw lessons from this. It is
about time their leopards change their spots.
