A retired Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says the growing security challenge across Nigeria threatens government’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
Amachree stated this in his book, “DSS@40: My Journey Behind the Shield,” presented during activities marking the 40th anniversary of the country’s domestic intelligence agency on Saturday in Abuja.
He described the country’s worsening security situation as evidence of a deepening national crisis, noting that violence had expanded in scope and complexity without any clear end in sight.
According to him, the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency has now been compounded by banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts and separatist agitations across different parts of the country.
The retired spy chief said the pervasive violence in many communities was threatening one of the defining characteristics of a functioning state, which is the government’s monopoly on violence.
He advocated comprehensive security reforms, including the establishment of state police, to address the evolving nature of insecurity and improve response to local security challenges.
Amachree warned that adequate safeguards must however accompany any state policing system to prevent political abuse and misuse by state governments.
He proposed that only governors, deputy governors and speakers of state assemblies should be entitled to official police protection under a state police arrangement.
According to him, the current practice of assigning security personnel to wealthy individuals and non-statutory public figures should be discontinued under a reformed policing structure.
He recommended that VIP protection for individuals outside constitutionally recognised offices should instead be handled by licensed private security companies.
The retired DSS director also expressed concern over declining public confidence in institutions responsible for peaceful dispute resolution, including the judiciary and electoral management bodies.
He said that persistent distrust in democratic institutions could weaken democratic legitimacy and undermine confidence in constitutional mechanisms for resolving political disputes. (NAN)
