First-Class Graduates Should Be Forced to Join DSS, Says Deputy Director
Patrick Ikenweiwe, a deputy director at the Department of State Services (DSS), has suggested that first-class graduates from Nigerian universities should be compelled to join the secret service. Speaking at a lecture at the University of Ilorin, he argued that only academically exceptional individuals should be entrusted with national security responsibilities.
Chris Oyeoku Okafor 
Patrick Ikenweiwe, a deputy director at the Department of State Services (DSS), has proposed that first-class graduates from Nigerian universities be compelled to join the secret service, emphasizing the need for intellectual prowess in the country’s security apparatus.
Ikenweiwe made this statement during the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture, organized by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State. He delivered the lecture on behalf of Adeola Ajayi, the DSS director-general, on the topic, “The Roles of the DSS in Security, Peacekeeping, and National Integration.”
In his address, Ikenweiwe argued that individuals with poor academic records should not be entrusted with responsibilities related to national security. He stressed that academic institutions should work with security agencies to provide top-performing graduates to enhance the country's security framework.
“If I have my way, the best of the lot from every academic institution must be forced to serve in the secret service,” he said. “That is how it is in the so-called developed nations.”
Drawing a parallel with Israel’s recruitment system, Ikenweiwe highlighted that Israeli students who score above 70 in their national examination are automatically directed to the university, reinforcing the idea that the brightest minds should be involved in matters of national security.
“Tell me, how would a dullard be able to keep security in a criminal gang that is constituted of first-class people? You need intellect to track criminality,” he continued.
The deputy director’s comments come at a time when the country is grappling with security challenges, including rising criminal activities. Ikenweiwe’s call for intellectual rigor in the recruitment of security personnel aims to ensure that Nigeria’s security framework is managed by individuals equipped with both academic excellence and strategic thinking.
He further urged the academia to collaborate with government agencies in identifying top-performing students, stating, “The academia should be able to supply us, sincerely, the details of students who have excelled in their various fields of study so that they would be forced to serve this great nation.”
