The N.S.S. wielded arbitrary arrest powers over charges like lacking revolutionary zeal

Evidence

These positive organs for shaping and sustaining patriotism at the appropriate pitch were reinforced by other agencies which checked deviations from official policy. Prominent amongst these were the National Security Service (N.S.S.) and the National Security Courts which jointly dealt with a wide range of ‘political’ offences including nepotism and tribalism, as already indicated, as well as with such charges as ‘lack of revolutionary zeal’ and treason. Members of the National Security Service, under a Sandhurst and K.G.B.-trained commander, enjoyed arbitrary powers of arrest, sometimes following the denunciation of a suspect by his personal enemies. Members of the public services were kept under surveillance and N.S.S. reports played an important part in promotion and demotion. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 518

Categorization

• XREF: The Sandhurst and K.G.B. dual training mirrors the broader East-West military alignment Lewis described for the army and police in the pre-coup period.