According to insider sources, the scandal involved allegations of widespread malpractice and manipulation of the agency’s internal promotion exams.
The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, has reportedly placed a ₦20million bounty and ordered the detention of 16 DSS officers following revelations surrounding a promotion examination scandal
According to insider sources, the scandal involved allegations of widespread malpractice and manipulation of the agency’s internal promotion exams.
The exposé detailed how senior officers colluded to inflate scores, favour preferred candidates, and undermine the integrity of the process, sparking outrage both within and outside the Service.
“His main focus is to find those officers in the DSS leaking the infractions to the media. He even sent a senior DSS officer to reach out to people he felt were close to human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, last week,” a top source informed this newspaper on Saturday.
It was reported on September 8 that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) expressed outrage over what they described as the “inhumane and chaotic conditions” that characterised the agency’s recent promotion examination exercise, which reportedly led to the death of eight officers.
The media had learnt from top insiders that the tragedy occurred as many personnel were forced to fund their own travel and accommodation for the exams, with no financial support from the agency.
The situation, sources had said, created extreme hardship and anxiety, ultimately costing the lives of officers who collapsed or fell ill while struggling to meet the demands of the process.
“It is with profound dismay that we note the recent release of the DSS promotion results.
“This process has been marred by unparallelled tragedy, with the reported loss of eight officers who died due to travel-related anxiety and hardships. Compounding this grief is the injustice of self-funded logistics, as no official travel or hotel allowances were provided.”
Beyond the fatalities, sources accused the DSS leadership of overseeing a compromised examination riddled with incompetence and lack of transparency.
They alleged that unqualified individuals set and marked the tests, leading to an abysmally low pass rate that has deepened resentment across the service.
“The integrity of the examination itself is in serious doubt. The outcome, a pass rate of less than 50% for the interview stage, is a direct reflection of this incompetence and has caused widespread disenchantment across all ranks,” the source explained.
“This entire affair represents a profound betrayal of the service’s dedicated personnel and demands immediate and thorough review.”
Figures obtained confirm the widespread discontent, showing shockingly low success rates across several cadres: CSIO to ADIS: 44.4% (284/640), PSIO to CSIO: 45.0% (179/398), SSIO to PSIO: 74.5% (379/509), SIO I to SSIO: 45.2% (132/292), SIO II to SIO I: 38.2% (557/1460), SO to SIO II: 56.6% (162/286), ASO to SO: 31.6% (372/1176), CD to ASO: 23.0% (34/148), DI to CD: 31.3% (194/619) and DII to DI: 45.5% (381/838).
An operative had stressed that the atmosphere of fear and secrecy surrounding the service meant leadership was desperate to suppress details of the deaths and poor results from becoming public.
“This is why they are clamping down, they don’t want you to tell the public what has happened under the new leadership,” the officer had said.
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