DSS wants compulsory recruitment of first-class graduates into service

The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has called for the compulsory recruitment of first-class graduates into the intelligence agency to strengthen national security.

Ajayi made the proposal while delivering the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

Speaking on 'The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration,' the secret police boss advocated for a policy shift in recruitment and staffing within security agencies to ensure only the best minds are enlisted.

Ajayi, represented by the DSS Deputy Director, Patrick Ikenweiwe, argued that enlisting top academic performers into the service should be a mandatory national policy, drawing parallels to Israel’s selective university admission system.

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He stressed the need for a shift in public perception, noting that many Nigerians view security agencies as adversaries rather than allies. He warned that such attitudes hinder intelligence gathering, peacebuilding, and national integration.

“Like I know, in Israel, there is one examination that students take to get admitted into the university. The moment you score above 70 marks, you have no option but to be sent to the university there.”

The DSS DG asserted that intelligence requires exceptional intellect to tackle sophisticated criminal networks.

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“Tell me how would a ‘Dundee’ (dullard) be able to keep security in a criminal gang that is constituted of First Class people? You know, it takes intellect to track criminality.”

“So, if I have my way in this country, and we keep praying that we do the right thing, the academia should be able to supply us, sincerely, the details of students who have excelled in their various fields of study so that they would be forced to serve this great nation,” he added.