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A gale of resignation has hit the Department of State Services, DSS,
in recent times, forcing the management of the service to temporarily
place a moratorium on further voluntary resignation from personnel of
the service. DSS OPERATIVES Investigations by Vanguard at the
headquarters of the Nigerian secret police indicated that in the last 10
months, no fewer than 70 middle cadre and junior cadre officers had
resigned from the service, both from the state commands and the national
headquarters.
While some of the officers resigned because they got better offers of
employment from, especially embassies of western nations, others
resigned because of unfavourable terms of employment they alleged had
pervaded the service since the take over of the present Director General
of the agency, Mallam Lawal Musa Daura.
one of the staff who resigned two weeks ago, told Vanguard: “The
condition of service is no longer favourable. Some allowances that we
were entitled to were stopped, while others were cut in half without
explanation. “Most importantly, operation allowances that we used to
enjoy were stopped without any reason. And we were still expected to put
in our best. If I cannot be treated well while in service, how will my
family be treated well when I am dead? It’s unfortunate that I had to leave after so much has been invested in me by this country.’’
Another personnel who said he would also leave in the next few
months, told Vanguard that the condition of service was no longer
palatable. “During the last dispensation, the service personnel were
well motivated to do their job. We embark on dangerous covert
assignments to keep the nation safe and all that we get in return is
insults and suspicion from the leadership of the service. Fortunately,
most of us are well trained so our services are needed by those
countries that helped in training us.
We cannot be jobless. If you get a better offer, it’s only natural to move” he said.
Another complain given by those who left is that “there appears to be
no future in remaining. When I joined the service, it was like one
family. There was no regional or ethnic segmentation. What we have seen
so far is perception of actions or inactions from the prism of where one
comes from. We were told during training that your competence will make
or mar you. That promise has been compromised.It’s no longer
interesting” she said.
Vanguard gathered that at the last count, five of those personnel who
left were absorbed by the American Embassy, ten by several banks and
other financial institutions as head of security, while about four have
joined oil companies. Worried by the steady resignation, the management
of the service issued a circular through departmental heads and state
Directors directing that voluntary resignation by service personnel
should no longer be accepted until further notice. No member of the
service was ready to speak on record and the service has no official
spokesman since the last one, Marylyn Ogar left service.
However, a senior official of the service who spoke with vanguard in
confidence claimed that the last dispensation exposed its personnel to
unnecessary wealth “which is capable of compromising operational duties”
“There is no way the present leadership would have continued with the
shenanigans that was perpetrated in the last dispensation. Apparently
the leadership wants to return the service to its founding vision which
is selfless service to the nation. It’s obvious that those who cannot
fit in would naturally leave” he said. It will be recalled that DSS 65
cadet officers of the service who were undergoing training at the State
Services Academy, SSA, in Lagos, including a sibling of the sacked
former spokes person of the service, Marilyn Ogar were asked to leave in
September last year, few weeks to their passing out.
No reason was given for their dismissal which was contained in a
letter by the Director General of the Department of State Service, Lawal
Daura.
A senior officer of the service who is familiar with the
matter told Vanguard then that their sack was “inevitable” because their
recruitment process was “flawed.” He explained that “What happened was
that recruitment of most of these cadets did not follow due process.
They were brought into the service by politicians without meeting the
stringent requirements set by the service in recruiting its personnel.
They were dumped on the service by politicians through the active
connivance of the past leadership of the service. We are re-organising
the service so we cannot afford to have partisan political moles in our
midst” the source said. The source who is a senior operative of the
service said the process of “weeding undesirable elements” who found
their way into the service was ongoing. The present leadership of the
service is determined to reposition the service to its professional
roles. There is nothing personal about the decision of the service. It
was a very painful decision in view of the investment made on them but
it was a decision that must be taken” he had said.