The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi has pledged to foster a more enabling environment for journalists and media practitioners to carry out their professional duties in Nigeria.
In response to a commendation award recently conferred on him by the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria, Ajayi said to the body’s President, Mr. Musikilu Mojeed that he would continue to ‘champion fair treatment of journalists and create a conducive atmosphere for them to carry out their legitimate duties, in line with the drive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, religion, or profession’.
According to a statecment on Sunday by the Secretary of IPI Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed I. Shekarau, Ajayi disclosed that he had initiated engagements with heads of other security agencies on the need to prioritise the protection and fair treatment of journalists nationwide.
‘I have initiated further engagements with my colleagues and heads of other security agencies to prioritise the protection and fair treatment of members of the press across the country’, he stated.
The DSS boss also commended IPI Nigeria for its sustained efforts at promoting responsible and balanced reportage of sensitive national security and development-related issues, while reaffirming his commitment to continued cooperation with the organisation and its members.
The commendation award was presented to Ajayi during IPI Nigeria’s 2025 Annual Conference, held on 2 December in Abuja, in recognition of his notable commitment to media freedom and the safety of journalists.
According to the body, since his appointment as DG of the service in late August 2024, Ajayi has demonstrated ‘an unmistakable commitment to press freedom and respect for journalists and media organisations.
‘Unlike in previous years, when the DSS was notorious for serial harassment, intimidation, and arrests of journalists, the agency under Ajayi’s leadership has shown remarkable restraint, professionalism, and openness to dialogue. Conflicts between the Service and the media are now resolved amicably through engagement rather than coercion’, the organisation said.
IPI Nigeria cited several instances to illustrate what it described as a positive shift in the agency’s posture toward the media. It noted that barely hours into Ajayi’s tenure, a journalist, Mr. Adejuwon Soyinka was intercepted and detained in Lagos, but ‘within hours of IPI Nigeria bringing the matter to his attention, Ajayi directed the Lagos Command to release the journalist immediately’.
The organisation also referenced Ajayi’s intervention in the case of the Executive Director of the International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, who had for decades suffered repeated harassment at Nigeria’s borders after being placed on an DSS watchlist in the 1980s.
Despite earlier assurances under previous administrations that his name had been removed, the problem persisted until Ajayi acted swiftly on the matter following a formal complaint by IPI Nigeria.
In the Order Paper case, IPI Nigeria recalled that the DSS arrested a staff member of the newspaper over a report alleging that the service invaded the National Assembly to facilitate the removal of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
‘Once notified, Ajayi immediately ordered that the detained journalist be granted administrative bail. Through constructive engagement, the matter was later resolved, all charges filed in court were withdrawn, and the case was closed’, IPI Nigeria said.
It said that it publicly acknowledged Ajayi’s press freedom credentials not only to encourage him to do more, but also ‘to inspire other public officials, institutions, and organisations to emulate his example’.
