Thursday June 25, 2026
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A retired Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has warned that corruption and a lack of patriotism within Nigeria’s political class constitute a grave threat to national security.

He further alleged that political leaders have become active architects of instability, largely due to their failure to deliver the dividends of democracy to the populace in many instances.

Amachree made the assertions in a book presented during the 40th anniversary of the Department of State Services, Nigeria’s principal domestic intelligence agency, established in 1986 following the dissolution of the National Security Organisation (NSO). Its other successor agencies include the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

In his 348-page publication titled, “DSS@40: My Journey Behind The Shield,” the author offers an insider’s account of decades of intelligence work, highlighting the challenges, sacrifices and responsibilities involved in safeguarding national interests.

Through detailed narratives of intelligence gathering, counterintelligence operations, crisis management and the protection of strategic national assets, Amachree sheds light on the often unseen realities of the profession.

Substantiating his concerns in Chapter 18, he wrote: “The endemic corruption and profound lack of patriotism among Nigeria’s political class represent a fundamental threat to national security, one that arguably surpasses external adversaries.”

He further stated: “Rather than providing the stewardship required to stabilise a nation in decline, political leaders have become active architects of instability.”

According to him, “their actions and systemic inaction have transformed the state from a protector of the people into a primary driver of socioeconomic collapse.”

In his analysis of what he termed the “anatomy of political sabotage,” the security expert argued that Nigeria’s current security challenges are not solely the result of insurgent or criminal activities.

He maintained that the situation “is a direct symptom of political failure,” concluding that the country is on a “slippery slope” driven by governance deficits and entrenched dysfunction.

*ARISE News