The plot was like that of a
movie, leaving trained security and intelligence officials confused. At the end
of it, Lawal Daura, then head of one of Nigeria’s foremost security agencies
was whisked away while his well trained security aides waited for him.
Multiple sources at the Nigerian
Presidency have revealed how Mr Daura, former Director-General of State
Security Service, (SSS), was sacked and arrested on the orders of Acting
President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday.
Mr Daura was sacked after masked
SSS operatives laid siege to the National Assembly complex preventing lawmakers
and civil servants from gaining access into the building.
The siege was only lifted about
an hour after Mr Daura’s sack.
OSINBAJO OUTRAGED
Sources at the presidential villa
said Mr Osinbajo, who has been in charge since President Muhammadu Buhari
proceeded on a 10 day vacation to the UK, was outraged by the actions of the
SSS.
“When the siege began, the acting
president quickly went to action and was able to gather preliminary information
of what was going on after which he invited some of the security chiefs
concerned for a briefing,” one of the sources said.
He said those invited include the
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the former DG, Mr Daura.
The source also said the acting
president was briefed earlier by National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno.
“When Lawal Daura came in, the
acting president asked him who cleared him to order operatives to lay siege on
the National Assembly; and his response was ‘shocking’.
“He simply said it’s within his
powers and that he is only answerable to the President and Commander-in-Chief
who appointed him,” the source said.
The source also said unknown to
Mr Daura, the acting president had already spoken to Mr Buhari after initial
reports indicated that Mr Daura “was in play with President of the Senate,
Bukola Saraki.”
After his response, Mr Osinbajo
told his media aide, Laolu Akande, to immediately issue a statement announcing
the sack of Mr Daura.
“The acting president also asked
the National Security Adviser to hand over the sacked DG to the police for
further investigation,” he said.
DAURA ARRESTED
Another source at the Villa , who
witnessed the drama that followed the directive from Mr Osinbajo, said as soon
as his arrest was ordered, the Aide De Camp (ADC) to Mr Osinbajo was seen
rushing to the ceremonial gate, where the Mobile Police Force office is
located.
“The ADC returned to the VP wing
with some mobile police officers in a rush and asked that a vehicle should be
brought immediately to the rear area for (Daura’s) evacuation.
“We thought the VP, who is the
only one whose convoy uses that place, was about to go out and there was a need
for additional vehicle. An SUV was ‘scrambled’ but the ADC said they should
bring a tinted Hilux van,” he said.
Meanwhile, the source said Mr Daura
‘s convoy and personal security were waiting for him, like they normally do, at
the administration gate (a separate one from the ceremonial gate) not knowing
what was going on inside.
“All of them thought the DG was
still meeting with the acting president until the convoy was asked to return to
headquarters empty,” he said.
Another source, a former director
in the SSS who worked with Mr Daura, said he (Daura) is currently being
detained at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), in Abuja.
“The fact that he was handed over
to SARS and not detained in a guest house (for high profile suspects) should
give you an indication of how the government is handling this matter. He is now
considered a suspected serious criminal,” he said.
He also said a combined team of
both the police and SSS “would have begun interrogating Mr Daura by now.”
THE REPLACEMENT
It was reported how on Tuesday Mr
Daura’s security details returned to the SSS headquarters without their
principal.
A senior official at the SSS said
the security details, after waiting for Mr Daura to come out from the meeting
with the vice president, simply received an order from a director at the agency
that they return to the agency’s headquarters.
By then, an acting
Director-General had been named for the SSS.
Matthew Seiyefa, was until his
appointment the director in charge of the Institute of Security Studies (ISS),
an institution established in 2005 as the cardinal training institution for the
SSS.
Mr. Seiyefa was the most senior
official at the SSS after Mr Daura. He briefly met with Mr Osinbajo on Tuesday.
The acting DG, an indigene of
Bayelsa State, was director of operations between 2007 and 2010 when Afakriya
Gadzama ran the agency.
With about 34 years experience,
Mr. Seiyefa served in different other capacities, including being state
director in Osun, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos States.
He is also a member of the
National Institute, having studied at the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
Insiders at the SSS said he is
close to retirement, and was indeed billed to proceed on terminal leave later
this month.
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