Former DSS officer drops fresh bombshell on Pantami’s security vetting

A retired Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has raised fresh questions about the appointment of Isa Ali Pantami as Minister of Communications and Digital Economy under the administration of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that the episode exposed vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s security vetting system and the influence of political considerations on intelligence assessments.

Amachree made the assertions in his newly released memoir, “DSS @40: My Journey Behind the Shield,” in which he reflects on four decades of service within Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency and offers insights into the country’s national security architecture.

The retired intelligence officer revisited the controversy that emerged in 2021 after old sermons and public statements attributed to Pantami resurfaced online.

The remarks, made years before he became a minister, generated widespread public debate over alleged expressions of support for extremist groups, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Boko Haram. Pantami later distanced himself from extremist ideology, stating that his views had changed over time and condemning terrorism.

According to Amachree, the controversy prompted serious questions about how an individual entrusted with overseeing Nigeria’s telecommunications and digital infrastructure successfully navigated the country’s security screening process.

He explained that the DSS typically conducts comprehensive background checks on nominees for sensitive public offices, examining factors such as previous affiliations, public speeches, academic history, political orientation, professional associations and online activities before forwarding intelligence assessments to the President and, where necessary, the National Assembly.

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However, he stressed that the agency’s role is advisory rather than decisive.

“The DSS provides intelligence and recommendations, but the final decision rests with political authorities,” Amachree wrote.

Although he acknowledged that he had no direct knowledge of Pantami’s specific security report, he argued that it was unlikely intelligence officers would have overlooked the minister’s previous public statements during the vetting process.

“In Pantami’s case, it is my belief that the DSS report likely contained references to his earlier extremist sympathies. However, when political imperatives such as federal character balancing, internal party politics, or strategic regional representation enter the equation, security advice can be sidelined,” he stated.

Amachree did not present documentary evidence from the alleged security report, and his comments reflect his personal assessment rather than confirmed details of the DSS vetting process.

The retired DSS officer also revisited Pantami’s ministerial confirmation by the Senate.

He recalled that Ajibola Basiru, who served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs at the time, publicly stated that lawmakers did not receive any adverse security report concerning Pantami before approving his nomination.

According to Amachree, that development raises broader institutional questions about how intelligence assessments are transmitted and utilised during appointments to sensitive public offices.

“There are two plausible interpretations here: either the DSS report was sanitized before reaching the Senate, or it was submitted with adverse findings that were simply disregarded due to political considerations,” he wrote.

He argued that either scenario would point to weaknesses within Nigeria’s national security framework, whether in intelligence dissemination or in the treatment of professional security advice during political decision-making.

He noted that while successive governments have invested significant resources in combating insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), questions surrounding Pantami’s past statements created what he described as an apparent contradiction in government policy.

“The controversy exposed deep contradictions in Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy,” he wrote.

Pantami served as Minister of Communications and Digital Economy from 2019 to 2023 under the Buhari administration.

In 2021, videos and reports of some of his earlier sermons resurfaced, prompting widespread calls for his resignation. Pantami subsequently stated that the remarks were made years earlier, that his views had evolved through further study, and that he unequivocally opposed terrorism and violent extremism.