31/08/2026
*DEMOCRACY UNDER PRESSURE: WHO IS THE DSS, EFCC AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES REALLY SERVING — THE CONSTITUTION AND THE PEOPLE, OR THOSE IN POWER ?*
> Written By: Pst. Amb. Commander Undie Ashibekong John, Peace Ambassador/ Humanitarian Advocate/ Community Development Leader Committed to Justice, Peace-building, Human Dignity, Democratic Values, and Sustainable National Development.
Can you listen to yourself talking ? Does what you are saying actually make any sense ? What, in reality, brought the DSS here in the first place ? Do you mean sending the DSS after citizens who are merely expressing their minds, opinions, concerns, and frustrations in a democratic society ? Is this now what democracy has become ? A situation where citizens can no longer speak freely, question those in authority, or demand accountability without being intimidated, harassed, arrested, unlawfully detained, or treated as criminals ?
So, are the DSS now your newborn babies who do not know their constitutional mandates, responsibilities, or rules of engagement, but are simply there in the office for you people to control them like little children ? Directing them to obey your unconstitutional instructions foolishly without properly investigating the crimes, allegations, or accusations labelled against those you want them to arrest in the society ? Constantly infringing on citizens' fundamental human rights ? Is that really how a professional security institution is supposed to operate in a constitutional democracy ?
Let us be very clear: the DSS, Nigeria Police Force, EFCC, and other legally constituted security and law-enforcement agencies are not personal instruments of intimidation, political persecution, vendetta, harassment, or suppression of legitimate public opinion. They are institutions of the Nigerian state, established under law to protect the nation, safeguard lives and property, preserve public order and national security, investigate and prevent crime within their respective mandates, and operate within the confines of the Constitution and other applicable laws. Their officers are expected to exercise professionalism, independence, restraint, due process, accountability, and respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of citizens.
Therefore, whenever security agencies are deployed against ordinary citizens simply because they have spoken out, asked questions, criticized government policies, exposed perceived wrongdoing, or demanded accountability, serious questions must be asked about the purpose, motive, proportionality, legality, and constitutional basis of such actions.
As the great political thinker John Stuart Mill argued in Considerations on Representative Government, representative institutions have an important duty to expose government actions to public scrutiny and criticism, because public discussion is an essential part of responsible government.
That principle remains profoundly relevant today: a government that cannot tolerate questions from its citizens risks turning public accountability into public fear.
How many times have you people sent the DSS after bad leaders in public offices embarrassing the state and nation at large through their unprofessional actions or activities, embezzling public funds for personal use, selling civil service jobs for huge amounts of money, issuing fake appointment letters to some, complimenting ghost workers in public offices while university graduates are jobless around our communities in their thousands, publishing fake projects they never carried out on social media on a daily basis, stealing almost all the local government federal allocations, and so on ?
Where are the DSS, EFCC and other security agencies when public resources are allegedly being misappropriated right from the local government level to the federal level ? Where is the DSS or EFCC when citizens raise public outcry over credible concerns about corruption, abuse of office, financial recklessness, manipulation of public institutions, employment racketeering, ghost workers, fraudulent appointments, abandoned projects, and the diversion of funds meant for the development of our communities ?
Why does the machinery of government suddenly become extremely efficient when it is time to intimidate, arrest, or silence citizens, yet appear painfully slow or inactive when ordinary people who actually need their intervention and protection are demanding accountability and justice from those entrusted with public positions and resources ?
If there are genuine allegations against any citizen, investigate them properly. If a crime has been committed, follow due process and allow the law or competent courts to take their course. But simply expressing an opinion, criticising government officials or individuals, exposing perceived wrongdoing, or demanding answers should not automatically be treated as a crime deserving the deployment of security agents or prolonged detention of vulnerable citizens in correctional facilities.
A democratic society cannot survive when citizens are expected to remain silent while public institutions are allegedly abused and public resources are allegedly squandered. Government officials are public servants, not untouchable monarchs. They occupy positions of public trust, and therefore they must be prepared to answer questions from the very citizens whose taxes, resources, and collective sacrifices sustain those institutions.
The real question is this: who are the DSS, EFCC, Nigeria Police Force and other legally constituted security agencies actually working for - the Constitution and the Nigerian people, or individuals who happen to be in positions of political authority at a particular time and who will eventually leave those offices in due time ?
Security agencies belong to the Nigerian state, not to individual politicians, office holders, influential leaders, political interest groups, or temporary occupants of public office. Their ultimate loyalty should be to the Constitution, the law, national security, justice, and the protection of the Nigerian people at large.
Just as James Madison's clear warning about the danger of concentrated governmental power remains instructive: He argued that the accumulation of governmental powers in the same hands could become “the very definition of tyranny.”
This is why institutions must be stronger than individuals, and laws must be stronger than political influence.
You cannot demand respect for government institutions while simultaneously destroying public confidence in those institutions through selective enforcement, intimidation, double standards, or the apparent use of security agencies or weapons against perceived opponents and critics.
If the government truly has nothing to hide, then criticism should be answered with facts, evidence, transparency, investigation, accountability, and constructive engagement, and not intimidation.
Leadership is not about silencing people who disagree with you. Leadership is about having the courage to listen, respond to legitimate concerns, correct mistakes, and demonstrate accountability. A government that is confident in its record should not be afraid of citizens asking questions.
History has repeatedly demonstrated that the most respected leaders and institutions are not those that never made mistakes, but those that possessed the humility, wisdom, courage, and institutional maturity to recognise mistakes, listen to criticism, make corrections, and prevent future occurrences.
A government does not become weak because it listens to its citizens; rather, it becomes stronger when it has the courage to listen, learn, correct itself, and improve.
Abraham Lincoln's enduring description of democratic government remains a powerful reminder of whom government ultimately belongs to: “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
That means the people are not subjects to be intimidated into silence. They are citizens whose voices, concerns, criticisms, and legitimate demands for accountability are part of the democratic process.
Therefore, instead of sending security agents after citizens for speaking their minds or exercising their fundamental human rights, why not send those same institutions to investigate the serious allegations of corruption by public officials, abuse of office, financial misconduct, fraudulent appointments, ghost workers, fake projects, and the alleged diversion of public funds that citizens have continued to raise public outcries about on daily basis ?
Why not make accountability apply equally to the powerful and the powerless ?
Why should an ordinary citizen who raises questions about public administration suddenly become a security concern, while allegations involving powerful public officials are sometimes allowed to linger without transparent investigation ?
Why should the person demanding accountability become the target, while the allegations demanding investigation are ignored ?
These are legitimate questions, and asking them should not be interpreted as an attack on whosoever. On the contrary, responsible citizens who demand transparency are participating in the protection of the state and the strengthening of democracy.
Citizens have a constitutional right to express themselves, ask questions, criticise public officials, demand good governance, and hold public institutions accountable, and subject of course to the limits imposed by law, without defamatory or abusive words. That right should not become a privilege granted only to those who praise those in power.
Nigeria belongs to all of us, and the protection of democracy is a collective responsibility. The DSS, EFCC, Nigeria Police Force, and other security and law-enforcement agencies should therefore remain professional institutions guided by law, due process, constitutional responsibility, and public interest, rather than being perceived as instruments for intimidating citizens whose only alleged offence is speaking truth to power.
Security agencies should investigate facts, not personalities. They should pursue evidence and ensure justice at all times, and not political enemies or vulnerable citizens. They should protect citizens, not create fear among them. They should enforce the law, not become substitutes for the courts. And they should defend the Constitution, not individuals.
If the allegations against any citizen are false, investigate and establish the truth. If they are true, let the law take its full course. But do not confuse legitimate criticism with criminality, abuse, or defamation of one's characters, and do not use state security institutions to settle political disagreements or silence citizens.
Let every public officer remember that political power is temporary, public office is a trust, and history is an impartial witness. The office you occupy today will eventually be occupied by another person lower in influence or bigger than you tomorrow. Therefore, do not build institutions around your personality; build institutions that will survive your tenure and protect citizens long after you have left office, and leaving an interesting and unforgettable legacy.
A wise government does not fear criticism. It studies criticism, separates truth from falsehood, investigates allegations, corrects legitimate errors, and becomes better because of the lessons learned.
As Abraham Lincoln demonstrated through his own leadership, humility and reconciliation can be greater instruments of strength than vengeance; his famous call was for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.”
That is the kind of leadership citizens should expect, leadership that listens before it reacts, investigates before it accuses, verifies before it arrests, and corrects before it repeats the same mistake tomorrow and bringing constant shame, frustration, lost of confidence to public offices and the nation at large.
The people are watching.
The people are asking questions.
The people are demanding accountability.
And the people deserve answers - not intimidation, arbitrary arrest, harassment, unlawful detention, or the weaponisation of state institutions against legitimate dissent.
A democracy is not measured by how loudly those in power can command obedience; it is measured by how safely ordinary and vulnerable citizens can speak, question, disagree, demand accountability, and still enjoy the protection of the law.
May those entrusted with public authority remember that power is temporary, but the consequences of how that power is exercised can remain in the pages of history for generations.
Nigeria deserves institutions that serve the Constitution, the law, and the people, and not individuals.
Nigeria deserves justice, accountability, transparency, responsible leadership, and respect for fundamental human rights.
Let the law lead. Let evidence speak. Let justice prevail. Let democracy breathe.
Thanks for reading and sharing massively to all quarters to ensure a peaceful, united and just society in our L.G.A, State and Country by God's Merciful Grace.
