Kaduna,
18 September 2026
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has restated its commitment to closer co-operation with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the fight against corruption and economic crime, following a courtesy visit to the commission’s Kaduna zonal office.
The visit took place on Wednesday, 16 September, when Hakeem Olutope Abiola, the DSS director for internal security, led a service delegation to the EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate. The meeting was received by Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Ahmed M. Ghali, the acting director of the zonal command.
Mr Abiola said the purpose of the visit was to reinforce the existing relationship between the two agencies, particularly through the sharing of intelligence and joint action against economic and financial crime. He stressed the need for sustained co-operation and for both organisations to make fuller use of their expertise and intelligence capabilities.
Responding, Mr Ghali welcomed the delegation and described the visit as evidence of the cordial ties already in place. He assured the DSS team of the EFCC’s continued support and of the commission’s determination to deepen collaboration on intelligence sharing and mutual assistance.
The EFCC, Nigeria’s principal anti-graft agency, investigates and prosecutes economic and financial crime. The DSS is the country’s domestic intelligence service. The two bodies have a statutory relationship: the DSS sits on the EFCC’s board under the commission’s establishment act, and officials on both sides have repeatedly argued that neither agency can meet its mandate if it works in isolation.
The Kaduna meeting follows a pattern of courtesy calls and operational contacts between the two organisations across several states. Officials have previously pointed to intelligence sharing as especially important in cases involving money laundering and the financing of organised crime.
No new operational agreement was announced. Both sides confined themselves to a public pledge to keep working together and to deploy their respective capabilities more effectively against economic and financial crime.
By A.Ikechukwu – Legal and Crime Editor
