War Against Terror Is a Task That Must Be Accomplished – DSS DG Tells North-West Security Chiefs

Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.

The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Ajayi, has issued a clarion call for a united and coordinated front against the twin scourges of terrorism and banditry that have held the North-West region in a suffocating grip for years, declaring at a high-level security conference in Katsina that the war against terror is a task that must be accomplished. Ajayi made the call on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at the second North-West Zonal Conference of State Directors of Security, organised by the DSS under the theme “Unite Against Terror.”

The conference, hosted at the Katsina State Command of the DSS, brought together State Directors of Security from the seven North-West states – Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara – alongside heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, government officials and retired security personnel. The gathering was designed to assess the evolving security threats in the region, share operational experiences and develop effective strategies to contain terrorism and banditry. Ajayi, who was represented by the Chairman of the North-West Forum of State Directors of Security and Kano State Director of Security, Husseini Abubakar, said the conference provided a critical platform for security stakeholders to review the region's endemic security challenges.

"This edition of the Northwest SDSS Conference gives us another opportunity to compare notes, share experiences, assess evolving and endemic security challenges, particularly the threat of banditry, and devise appropriate containment strategies in the effort to secure our communities," Ajayi said. The DSS boss stressed that the Service was strengthening the tactical capabilities of its personnel to respond more effectively to emerging security threats. He commended the existing synergy among security and law enforcement agencies in the region, describing such collaboration as essential to securing communities. "As we go into the technical session, I am optimistic and we should bear in mind that the war against terror is a task that must be accomplished," he declared.

Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, who declared the conference open, echoed Ajayi's call for stronger collaboration. Represented by his deputy, Malam Faruk Jobe, Radda said the region's security challenges required a coordinated response involving government, security agencies and communities. The governor said Katsina had recorded significant improvement in its security situation through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures. He revealed that when his administration assumed office, about 26 local government areas were consistently affected by attacks, with cases of killings, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes. He said the state had moved from persistent killings and kidnappings to improved stability due to stronger collaboration with security agencies.

Radda said his administration invested heavily in non-kinetic measures to address root causes of insecurity, including free medical care for victims of banditry and prioritising agriculture to strengthen livelihoods. He urged stronger community intelligence and responsible media reporting, warning against sensationalism that could aid criminals. "I would encourage the participants to ensure that we get feedback from the community on how to improve our own situation," he said. The governor also called on the media to support security efforts by providing responsible coverage capable of boosting public confidence and the morale of security personnel. "Today, everybody is a journalist. It is not everything that we need to say; there are things that when we say them, instead of sending the right signal, we end up creating other issues," he warned.

In his welcome address, the Katsina State Director of Security, Alhassan Iliyasu, said the conference was aimed at strengthening intelligence-led operations and developing a common regional strategy against insecurity. He said the theme, "Unite Against Terror," underscored the need for collective action, stressing that securing communities could not be left solely to security agencies. "By uniting against terror, it involves everybody, not only the security agencies, but the entire society," Iliyasu said. He said Katsina State had adopted a community-based security approach involving the government, security agencies, community watch structures and vigilante groups in responding to security threats. "If you observe in Katsina State, that theme, 'Unite Against Terror,' is no longer news because we live as one family. At any point in time, however late the day is, whoever you call among the action agencies, we are responding," he said.

Iliyasu disclosed that a communique would be issued at the end of the deliberations to serve as a roadmap for coordinated security responses across the region. "At the end of the day, after brainstorming, we will come up with a communique, and the communique will be like a roadmap that will be used or considered for effective countermeasures against banditry and related criminal organisations or criminal activities in the entire North-West," he said. The conference, which also featured participation from the Commander of the 17 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Katsina, Brigadier-General Ishaya Ibrahim, and other security chiefs, focused on intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation, community engagement and other measures aimed at strengthening the collective capacity of the seven North-West states to confront the region's security challenges.

The convening of the conference comes amid persistent security concerns across the North-West, where banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, arms trafficking and other forms of organised criminality have continued to challenge communities and security institutions. The declaration by the DSS Director-General that the war against terror is a task that must be accomplished has set a determined tone for the region's security chiefs, who now face the challenge of translating the conference's deliberations into tangible results on the ground.

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