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The State Security Service (SSS) or Department of State Services (DSS) has its roots in pre-colonial Nigeria. It formally came into existence in 1948 with the establishment of the then “E” Department (Special Branch) domiciled in the Office of the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force. Following the abortive coup of 1976 during which the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed was assassinated, General Olusegun Obasanjo promulgated the NSO Decree No.16 (1976) in one of his foremost national assignments as the Head of State. The Decree witnessed the establishment of the Nigerian Security Organization (NSO), which came in the wake of the security challenge posed by the 1976 abortive coup. The NSO was then charged with the responsibility of timely procurement of relevant and well analyzed intelligence necessary to meet the highlighted challenges and other matters bordering on National Security.

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