Buhari sacks army bodyguards as DSS takes over Aso Rock security

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the redeployment of officers of the Nigerian Army attached to the Presidential Villa to their base.

Following the development, the power tussle between security units in the Presidential Villa has been put to rest as the Department of State Security Service (DSS) have taken over their traditional duty as body guards of the president.

The power struggle between the two security agencies on who will provide protection for the President, started way back when he moved into the Aso Rock in 2015, although security officials say it is originally the duty of the DSS as they are trained in VIP protection.

The order for redeployment , it was gathered followed series of complaints from the current CSO Bashir Abubakar, who was not comfortable with the arrangement of having soldiers as aides of the Commander-In-Chief.

It was first noticed that last week, officers of the DSS who were moved to the gate and other outer entrances started taking over in
batches.

It was gathered that the approval for their redeployment was given by the President Buhari shortly before proceeding on his vacation to London, United Kingdom (UK) where he is undergoing medical checks.

The development was confirmed by a top security source who spoke to journalists off the record as he was not speaking in official capacity.

The former Chief Security Officer (CSO) Abdulraman Mani and the Aide de Camp (ADC) to the President, Colonel Lawal Abubakar, had clashed on series of occasions over which security agency should provide close protection to the President.

Mani had insisted on allowing men and officers of the DSS to protect the President in the inner circle as is the tradition, while the ADC was rooting for soldiers to serve as body guards.

According to reports Mani had in a memo dated Friday, June 26th 2015 countered the ADC asking DSS officials to disregard the ADC’s directives as it was a misrepresentation of the President’s order.

Quoting relevant sections of the constitution which empowers the DSS to carry out VIP protection functions, Mani had copied the National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director -General of the DSS in his memo.

The memo read in part, “In fact, the issues raised in the aforementioned (ADC’s) circular tend to suggest that the author may have ventured into a not-too-familiar terrain.

“The extant practice, the world over, is that VIP protection, which is a specialised field, is usually handled by the Secret Service, under whatever nomenclature.

“They usually constitute the inner core security ring around every principal. The Police and the military by training and mandate are often required to provide secondary and tertiary security cordons around venues and routes.

“However, all other security agencies, including the army, the police and others, also have their roles to play. It is on this note that heads of all security agencies currently in the Presidential Villa and their subordinates are enjoined to key into the existing command and control structure. They are to work in harmony with each other in full
and strict compliance with the demands of their statutorily prescribed responsibilities.

“Meanwhile, joint training programmes and other incentives will be worked out in the days ahead to ensure that all security personnel at the Presidential Villa are properly educated to understand their statutory roles and responsibilities.

“This is with a view to avoiding obvious grandstanding, over zealousness, limited knowledge or outright display of ignorance in future,” the document added.

President Buhari it was gathered was uncomfortable with the roles the DSS played during the 2015 presidential election hence he was more inclined to working with the soldiers.

According to the source, “protection of the President by body Guards is actually the work of the DSS but Mr. President did not have confidence in the service because of the way they treated him during the campaigns.

“The soldiers were moved into the inner circle of the security network while SSS operated at the periphery. This has not gone down well with both services. Mr. President was convinced to reverse this order,” he said.