Army and state security department in dispute over who should guard President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari hasn’t moved into the presidential villa yet and it’s reportedly causing a dispute between the army and state security.

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Since the inauguration on May 29, Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo haven’t moved into the official residence because of the ongoing renovation.

Punch reports that the row between the army and the state security department is about who will be in charge of the president’s security.

A presidency source who pleaded anonymity said that one of the close aides of the president, a retired military officer, had written to the army, the DSS and the police asking them to send their men to Aso Rock.

The source said the head of one of the security agencies refused to comply because the author of the letter had not been given any formal responsibility by the president.

He added that trouble started over the weekend when some officials of the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps (NAIC) were driven into the State House with the instruction that they be deployed in strategic positions, including the president’s office and residence.

He added that the DSS officials on duty at the time denied them access into the State House until when a directive came that they should be allowed in.

The officials of NAIC were said to have taken over from the DSS officials.

“The NAIC officials were first driven into the Villa in a coastal bus on Saturday, but they were turned back by officials of the DSS.

“After series of meetings, we were later told that we should allow them in. So they came in on Sunday while some others joined them on Monday.

“Naturally, it is DSS officials that are always in charge of the President’s inner security. But with this development, it seems they want to change the tradition and use the NAIC guys.

“The talk among operatives is that the development might be political considering the roles the DSS played in the build up to the 2015 general elections,” The official said.

Another source told Punch that DSS officials attached to the State House are also currently at loggerheads with officials of a private security outfit.

The security outfit is said to be owned by a retired DSS official who is also close to the president.

Security guards from the firm were said to have been working with Buhari long before he became president.

The source on Monday added that shortly after DSS officials arrived at the National Mosque, Abuja on Friday to cordon off the place ahead of Buhari’s arrival for the Jumat service, about 30 officials of the security firm also arrived.

They reportedly claimed that they were under instructions to take possession of the mosque’s premises, a step that was resisted by the DSS officials who insisted that the responsibility to secure the place for the commander-in-chief was solely theirs.

“After a lot of argument, the officials of the security outfit agreed to leave the premises for the DSS officials as they were asked to go and stand outside the premises.

“That was the second time that the scenario played out in the mosque. On May 29 shortly after the president’s inauguration, that was the same way men of that firm showed up at the same mosque where the C-in-C worshipped,” the source added.

 

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