The recent resignation of Yusuf Bichi as the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) has stirred reactions within the agency.
Many DSS officers, who requested anonymity, expressed relief, describing Bichi’s exit as a “freedom from unprofessionalism.”
These DSS officers highlighted several allegations of misconduct during Bichi’s tenure, particularly pointing to undue interference in the service’s operations by his family members, specifically his wife and son, Yusuf Bichi Jr.
The officers claimed that this interference compromised the professional integrity of the agency.
In the wake of Bichi’s resignation, a video emerged online showing some DSS staff members allegedly celebrating his departure.
The video quickly circulated on social media, sparking further discussions.
However, an X user, Sanusi Jibrin, provided a different context for the video, stating that it was recorded at the DSS office in Kogi State.
According to Jibrin, the celebration was not related to Bichi’s resignation but was in honor of the appointment of Adeola Ajayi as the new DSS Director-General.
Ajayi had previously served as a director at the Kogi State command, making his appointment a moment of pride for the local staff.
A DSS officer, however, said personnel of the agency were happy with Bichi’s removal.
He said, “We believed his regime was a punishment for us. He impeded the career advancement of many officers by extending the service years of those due to retire. Some senior officers, who were due for retirement in 2021 and 2022 were retained in the service.”
Another officer alleged that Bichi was indifferent to the welfare of workers.
The officer said, “The Federal Government increased our salary by 40 per cent, but there was no implementation. We were earning more than the police before, but the police are now earning more than us because they implemented their 40 per cent increment. However, there was a proposal to increase our salary by 25 per cent this year, but it has yet to be realised.”
Speaking on the recruitment of personnel, another secret agent described Bichi’s recruitment as nepotistic.
He further stated, “Bichi’s recruitments were arbitrary and lopsided. Three different training sessions have been conducted for some people we didn’t know when they were recruited this year alone. Most of the newly recruited personnel are northerners.
“His first recruitment in 2019 brought in either 420 or 450 persons from Bichi Local Government Area in Kano alone. In the history of the service, 450 was the maximum recruitment we ever had before Bichi, but he recruited 1,000 personnel at once.
“There was no southerner among the national directors and deputy directors at the headquarters until January this year when he was directed by the Presidency following a petition. His wife is another issue; she abused her husband’s office. His son, too, was power drunk.
“Just two weeks ago, his wife slapped a DSS director in a northern state. She also slapped at least two deputy directors at airports.”
The Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, stated that the alleged celebration of Bichi’s resignation by some staff members did not necessarily mean he was a good or bad leader.
According to him, workers do not like disciplined bosses who insist that everybody should do the right thing and reject corruption.
He said, “I’m not saying the former DG is good because we could see a lot of loopholes in intelligence gathering and security issues.
“That staff and colleagues are celebrating his exit, it’s neither here nor there. It could be that he is very, very strict or it could be that he has not been taking care of their welfare and whatever.
“It could also be that he didn’t allow them to do their work the way they wanted to do it. And maybe his exit will allow them to prove their mettle, that they could work better than they were doing under him.”