Top intelligence directors, military brass, and traditional leaders converge to craft fresh strategies against terror, banditry, and cross-border crime.
Politics Nigeria has taken to its online media outlet and announced that, in a high-stakes security conclave held in Kaduna on Thursday, Directors of the Department of State Services (DSS) from across the North-West zone—joined by their counterparts from the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, and Plateau States—convened to recalibrate Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and intelligence strategies amid rising regional security threats.
The closed-door session, hosted by the Kaduna DSS Command, focused on sharpening intelligence sharing, reinforcing inter-agency synergy, and upgrading both kinetic and non-kinetic responses to terrorism, banditry, and violent extremism.
Declaring the conference open, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani—represented by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shuaibu (SAN)—stressed that intelligence-driven collaboration remains the lifeline of national security, urging participants to embrace innovation, data-led analysis, and trust-based cooperation among sister agencies.
> “The DSS stands as a pillar of democratic stability,” the governor noted, commending the agency’s “unflinching role in dismantling violent networks and safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty.”
He described the gathering as “an avenue for reflection, coordination, and strategic renewal,” calling for deeper investment in technology-driven surveillance, analytical capacity, and community-centered peacebuilding.
Traditional rulers also lent their voices. The Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, applauded the DSS for sustained collaboration with traditional institutions, noting that grassroots dispute resolution mechanisms championed by the service have reduced communal tensions and legal backlogs.
Bamalli further disclosed that an ongoing vetting process for district and village heads—backed by the DSS—is helping to reinforce accountability and restore public trust in local governance.
Representing the military, Brigadier General Mohammed Kana, who stood in for the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Major General Mohammed Wase, underscored the indispensable role of DSS intelligence in guiding successful army operations across the North-West.
> “Without timely intelligence, even the strongest operations lose direction,” Kana remarked, affirming continued collaboration between the army and the DSS in joint missions.
In his welcome address, Kaduna DSS Director, Hakeem Abiola, revealed that the meeting sought to strengthen coordinated responses to cross-border crimes, identify operational blind spots, and consolidate gains achieved under the leadership of DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi.
He highlighted the Kaduna Peace Model—a hybrid of security and community-led engagement—as a major success story, particularly in stabilizing key flashpoints along the Kaduna–Abuja, Kaduna–Kachia, and Birnin Gwari corridors.
Abiola cited recent joint operations that led to arms recoveries, the rescue of abducted victims, and the disruption of planned terror attacks, describing them as evidence of the “renewed strategic depth” within the service.
He also proposed the creation of a Regional Security Coordination Forum—a platform for continuous dialogue among security agencies, traditional rulers, and political leaders—to ensure swift and united responses to emerging threats.
As the meeting drew to a close, security analysts hailed the renewed DSS momentum as a sign of a proactive intelligence culture taking root in Nigeria’s troubled northern corridor—one anchored on precision, partnership, and people-centered strategy.
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