The Intelligence Agency of a particular country has a lot of roles to play when it comes to the maintenance of the country’s national security, these agencies are mostly governmental agencies which are saddled with the responsibility of collating, analyzing and using various information gathered to enforce the law and to maintain the nation’s security.
According to dss.gov.ng after the abortive coup of 1976 which led to the assassination of the then head of state General Murtala Mohammed, after General Olusegun Obasanjo came into power his first proclamation was the NSO Decree No.16 (1976) which saw the establishment of the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO) which served as organisation charged with the responsibility of analyzing intelligence matter that has to do with national security.
Soon after General Ibrahim Babangida came into power in 1985 he re-organised the NSO through Decree No. 19 of 1986 which can also be known as National Security Agencies (NSA) Decree, 1986, this led to the establishment of 3 different intelligence agencies which are the State Security Service (SSS), Defence Intelligence Service (DIS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
1. The State Security Service (Nigeria)(SSS)/ Department of State Services (DSS)
As stated in the 1999 Presidential proclamation the SSS operate as a department which is inside the Ministry of Defence and reports directly to the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
According to dss.gov.ng the function of DSS include but is not limited to; the preservation and protection of any non-military classified matters which concerns the internal security of the country Nigeria, detection, investigation and prevention of threats such as Sabotage, Espionage, Separatist agitations and Terrorism.
Also, they are charged with the responsibility of protecting the President, Vice President, state governors or any visiting dignitaries or head of state and many other functions.
2. National Intelligence Agency (Nigeria)
This is a governmental that is saddled with the responsibility of overseeing various foreign intelligence and also counterintelligence operations, according to an article on sunnewsonline.com the National Intelligence Agency is the Nigerian equivalent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or M16), and the Russian Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR).
They are also saddled with the responsibility of preserving Nigeria’s dignity, pride and eminence by intercepting secret information which can breach national security or imperil its national interest.
3. Defence Intelligence Agency (Nigeria)
This organisation was established mainly to make provision for an efficient way of getting military intelligence for the Nigerian Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence. The agency is led by the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI) who is usually appointed by the president of Nigeria, some of the functions of this organisation are maintenance of the territorial integrity of Nigeria, the protection of the lives of Nigerian citizens and enhancing military cooperation with other countries.
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