Why IPI Nigeria gave SSS DG, Oluwatosin Ajayi, Commendation Award

By: Michael Mike

The Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria) has explained the rational behind the award to the Director General of the Department of State Security, Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi.

In a statement justifying the commendation award to Ajayi, the committee said: “Since his appointment as Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) in late August 2024, Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi has demonstrated an unmistakable commitment to press freedom and respect for journalists and media organisations.

“Unlike in previous years when the SSS was notorious for serial harassment, intimidation, and arrests of journalists, the agency under Mr 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.”

It cited few examples to illustrate this transformation to include:

“Barely hours into his tenure, one of our colleagues, Adejuwon Soyinka, was intercepted and detained in Lagos. Within hours of IPI Nigeria bringing the matter to his attention, Mr Ajayi directed the Lagos Command to release the journalist immediately.

“For decades, our member Lanre Arogundade had suffered humiliating treatment at Nigeria’s borders, having been placed on the SSS watchlist since the 1980s. Despite years of advocacy, previous assurances that his name had been removed turned out to be untrue. Shortly after assuming office, Mr Ajayi received a formal complaint from IPI Nigeria and acted swiftly—permanently deleting Mr Arogundade’s name from the watchlist.

“In the Order Paper case, the SSS arrested a staff member of the newspaper following an inaccurate report alleging the Service invaded the National Assembly to facilitate the removal of Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Once notified, Mr 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 Through constructive engagement, the matter was later resolved, all charges filed in court were withdrawn, and the case was closed.

“There was also a case involving one of our colleagues who became entangled in a personal matter unrelated to journalism. He was arrested alongside an associate. Acting on humanitarian grounds, we sought the DG’s intervention. Mr Ajayi obliged and ordered his release.

“In February 2025, the SSS contacted IPI Nigeria, accusing several media organisations of publishing falsehoods about its role in the Lagos Assembly crisis. Though understandably aggrieved, the DG worked patiently and collaboratively with us to resolve the dispute. The agency provided evidence that it had been invited by the Assembly leadership to secure the complex, and the matter was amicably settled without confrontation.

“In October 2025, without any prompting from IPI Nigeria, Mr Ajayi ordered disciplinary action against officers involved in the arrest and detention of two journalists from Jay 101.9 FM, a private radio station in Jos. He subsequently caused the SSS to issue a formal apology to the journalists and their organisation.

“For these and other reasons, we are honouring Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi today. We do so not only to acknowledge his commendable press freedom credentials but also to encourage him to do even more, and to inspire other officials, institutions, and organisations to emulate his example.”

Why IPI Nigeria gave SSS DG, Oluwatosin Ajayi, Commendation Award

Drug war: NCWS commends President Tinubu, Marwa, seeks collaboration with NDLEA

By: Michael Mike

The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the reappointment of Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for another term of five years.

National President of the NCWS, Princess Edna Azura who gave the commendation when she led other leaders of the Council on a courtesy visit to Marwa at the Agency’s national headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, said the decision will further strengthen and consolidate the ongoing war against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

She called for more collaboration between the women’s group and NDLEA in the area of joint sensitization programmes in schools, markets, and communities as well as training of women leaders in drug use prevention, treatment and care.

“We want to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this wonderful opportunity that he has given you extra five years. We are very, very grateful. This renewal is a clear national endorsement of your monumental contributions to national security, public health, women and youth protection. We are confident that your continued leadership will further fortify the nation’s fight against drug trafficking and promote sustainable peace and stability”, she noted.

She described Marwa’s leadership at NDLEA as transformative and inspiring. “Over the years, you have demonstrated what strong ethical and visionary public service truly means. Under your leadership, the Agency has recorded unprecedented achievements from dismantling sophisticated drug trafficking networks to intercepting record level quantities of illicit substances, improving intelligence driven operations, expanding community based preventive education and strengthening rehabilitation pathways for victims of substance abuse. We are very grateful for that. These achievements are not just institutional milestones, they represent hope for millions of families, especially women and children, who often suffer the silent painful consequences of drug related crime, domestic challenges and societal instability.”

While seeking further partnership with NDLEA in the fight against the drug scourge, Princess Azura said “at NCWS, we have also been actively mobilising women, mothers, teachers and community groups to participate in the fight against substance abuse. Our ongoing school outreach programmes, advocacy forums and community sensitisation campaigns across the states have proven that when women are fully engaged, prevention becomes more effective.”

She said the NCWS is eager to explore strategic areas of cooperation with NDLEA, including training of the Council’s national officers and state leaders as community anti-drug ambassadors; joint advocacy campaigns targeting mothers and caregivers; rehabilitation and reintegration especially for women and youths affected by substance abuse, among others.
In his response, Marwa expressed appreciation to the NCWS leaders for the visit and their kind remarks about him and President Tinubu. He said as the umbrella body for all women societies across the country, it is imperative for NDLEA to partner with the NCWS. He said the Agency considers the drug menace as Nigeria’s number one problem today because it affects everyone and every community directly or indirectly, adding that with a population of about 15million drug users, there’s the need for a whole of society response.

“So, this is a big challenge and government cannot handle it alone, we have to have the whole of society to work with us. So NCWS, we don’t have any bigger partners than you because you are the mothers handling families all over the country, and it is very, very critical that you stand up. You have to stand up and be part of this struggle to redeem the souls of our young boys and girls, including the women who are afflicted”, he stated.

The NDLEA boss assured the women leaders that the NDLEA will not only partner with them but will equally organise Drug Use Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC) training to equip them for the task ahead in 2026. “We will hold a DPTC training for you, we usually to do that for governors’ spouses and I think we will tailor it to exactly what you will need, so that you can also take it down to the states, and down to the grassroots.”

He urged them to also buy in and take ownership of the current push for drug integrity test for intending couples as part of efforts to discourage substance abuse and encourage early detection and treatment, especially among the youth.

Drug war: NCWS commends President Tinubu, Marwa, seeks collaboration with NDLEA

NSCDC Borno State Command flays one sided report against personnel at Njimtilo check point

By our reporter

The former boss of the Borno state Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) Mohammed Agalama has described as false allegations details leveled against him in a recent publication by Zagazola media network.

He said most of what was published by that online outfit were maliciously done to denigrate the command and his person because he was in charge of the station as at then.

Agalama who spent only about two months before his sudden transfer to Kano stated that he was equally hunted because of his recent stands for equality when it comes to certain privileges among his officers and other sensitive issues in which he made pronouncements not very palatable to certain sections of the society.

In a strongly worded response to the publication, the spokesman of the NSCDC command James Bulus noted that most of the fundamental details of the report was a figment of the imagination of the writer.

He noted that the writer who did not balance his report by hearing the side of the command from his former boss over what happened listened to one side and deliberately went out to malign him without confirming what really happened within the period under review.

Bulus stated in a release made available to newsmen in Maiduguri that there were a lot of untruths inside the Njimtilo related report which was why the former NSCDC boss committee’s report has been forwarded to the National Headquarters of the Corp in Abuja, adding that justice will surely be done over the matter which painted the command in such a bad light by the publication.

Demand for redress

The release noted that the management respectfully requests that the publication issue a clarification acknowledging these inaccuracies and the misidentification of the officer involved.

“The management hereby advised that a fair and balanced account will restore public confidence in both the NSCDC and the media’s responsibility to report verified facts.” Said the spokesman.

Trouble actually started when the outfit reported that “a Maiduguri-based mechanical engineer name withheld who repairs heavy-duty trucks at Njimtilo alleged that essential spare parts worth over N800,000 were stolen from his workshop overnight.

“Days later, the owner was shocked to find the same spare parts inside the NSCDC outpost under officer Bulama’s custody.

“Instead of returning the recovered property, he reportedly demanded N500,000 as a ‘settlement’ before release. The victim offered N100,000, but the officer insisted on the full amount.

” Investigations revealed that mounting pressure from the NSCDC command forced the officer to return some of the items. However, four critical components valued at over N800,000 were missing. Bulama insisted these items were never recovered.

“Further probing uncovered that the missing parts had been sold, and N150,000 — reportedly the payment for the items — was transferred into the officer’s personal bank account.

“Following the escalation of the case to the Borno State NSCDC Commandant, Muhammad Hassan-Agalama, Bulama was relieved of his position and referred to a disciplinary committee.” Said the report.

Meanwhile, the National headquarters of the NSCDC will soon release the report of their findings of the allege misconduct of the accused Bulama which caused the sudden transfer of his former boss.

NSCDC Borno State Command flays one sided report against personnel at Njimtilo check point