The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to appeal Monday’s life sentence handed two top commanders of the Ansaru Terror organization by a Federal High Court, Abuja.

Justice Emeka Nwite had, shortly after Mahmud Usman, a.k.a Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru; and Abubakar Abba, a.k.a Mahmud al-Nigeri/Malam Mamuda, pleaded guilty to all the 32-count charges against them, sentence both men to life imprisonment.

However, a top official of the Service, said they considered the life sentence as too light a punishment for the crimes allegedly committed by the Ansaru commanders.
The official said the Service found it curious that, both convicts were on the verge of pleading guilty to the charges, but changed their minds shortly after some persons believed to be members of the same Ansaru organization kidnapped pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State.

“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed. One of the top conditions the abductors gave was the unconditional release of these same Ansaru commanders in exchange for the Oriire kidnap victims,” he said.

“From ‘not guilty plea,’ the two men at the penultimate court session, said they were undecided on what plea to take. Justice Nwite even had to hand them an ultimatum to make up their minds on or before Monday’s sitting. After the Oriire rescue, they came to court to plead guilty to all the charges,” he added.

According to the top official, allowing the two terror commanders walk away with life sentences would not serve the cause of justice for the two Oriire teachers beheaded by their abductors.

“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on government to release these two Ansaru commanders. It, therefore, wouldn’t be fair to see two men beheaded and their families are made to live with the losses without adequately bringing the culpits to book,” he declared

By Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D

Power changes many people. Some become distant. Others become inaccessible. Many begin to measure success by the authority they wield rather than the lives they touch. But every so often, one encounters a public servant whose humanity appears to have survived the weight of office. Such leaders remind us that compassion is not the opposite of strength.
It is one of its highest expressions.

That thought came to mind recently following reports that the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, facilitated the meritorious employment of twenty-seven orphans into the Service.

In a country where thousands compete for every vacancy, and where admission into the DSS is regarded as one of the most competitive recruitment processes in the public service, the story resonated instantly with Nigerians.

Not merely because twenty-seven young people found employment.
But because twenty-seven children who had already known the pain of losing parents were reportedly given the chance to rebuild their future. That single act tells us something important. Leadership is at its noblest when it deliberately lifts those whom life has already burdened.

Those who have known Mr. Ajayi insist this did not begin with his appointment as Director-General. Long before he assumed leadership of Nigeria’s foremost domestic intelligence agency, they describe a man who quietly sponsored the education of indigent children, extended assistance to struggling families and gave generously without seeking recognition.

If those accounts are accurate, public office did not create his compassion. It merely enlarged its reach.
Perhaps nothing illustrates that humanity more profoundly than another story.

Raised in a Christian family by parents who are both clerics, Mr. Ajayi reportedly mobilised friends and associates to support the construction of a mosque in Kaduna.
There is something quietly beautiful about that gesture. It reminds us that genuine compassion does not pause to ask whether the person in need worships in a church or a mosque.

Humanity sees people before it sees religion.
At a time when Nigerians are too often encouraged to dwell on the things that divide them, such acts quietly affirm the values that bind them together.

Leadership also reveals itself in how it responds when institutions fall short. Those familiar with recent developments within the DSS point to occasions where the Service apologised and facilitated compensation for individuals who had been wrongfully detained, instead of waiting to be compelled through lengthy litigation.

No institution is perfect.
The true test of leadership is not whether mistakes never occur.
It is whether there is sufficient integrity to acknowledge them, and sufficient courage to make amends.That approach does not weaken an institution.
It strengthens public confidence in it.

The operational achievements of the DSS are well known. Preventing terrorism.
Protecting national security. Disrupting criminal networks.
Safeguarding constitutional order. Those are enormous responsibilities.

But perhaps leadership is measured by something even deeper. Not simply by the threats an institution neutralises.
But by the hope its leader inspires.

Titles eventually fade.
Appointments come to an end. Uniforms are retired. Offices are vacated. What endures are the lives transformed along the way.
The orphan who receives an opportunity. The child whose education is paid for. The family that finds hope again. The citizen whose dignity is restored through justice. Those are the monuments that no retirement can erase.

History remembers powerful men. But it remembers humane men even more kindly. Perhaps that is the lesson behind the badge.
That the finest intelligence officer is not only one who protects the nation.It is also one who never stops caring about the people who make up that nation.

Dr Lemmy Ughegbe, FIMC, CMC
Email: lemmyughegbeofficial@gmail.com
WhatsApp ONLY: +2348069716645

Orphanages across the country have praised the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, for recruiting 27 qualified orphans from diverse fields into the Service. They described the gesture, which is ongoing, as a compassionate one that will change many lives.

The commendation came from orphanage administrators and child welfare groups. They described the move as giving young otherwise disadvantaged Nigerians who grew up without parents a real chance to contribute to their country and build stable careers in national security.

For many of the beneficiaries, they said, the recruitment came as a life-changing opportunity. “Having been raised in orphanages with limited prospects, the chance to serve in the DSS is something I never imagined possible,” director, Holy Child Motherless Babies Home, Holy Ghost,
Enugu North, Enugu State, Rev. Sister Antonella Okeke, said.
They expressed gratitude, saying the gesture gave them not just a job, but a sense of identity, direction, and belonging.

On her part, the administrator of
Margaret Garba Orphanage/ Less Privilege Home, Adavi LGA, Kogi State, Rufina Edache Ejembi,
said the decision by the Director-General sends a strong message that no Nigerian child should be left behind, regardless of their background or family situation.

They called on other government institutions and private organisations to follow the example set by the DSS and create similar opportunities for young Nigerians in orphanages across the country.

‘This initiative is so commendable and part of the agency’s efforts to build a more inclusive and humane institution, one that looks beyond paperwork and privilege, to find talent and potential in every corner of Nigerian society,” one of them declared.