Mr. Lawal Musa Daura, former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), has recently been reported in some online platforms to have made comments alleging that he possesses information concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
We at the Progressive Alliance for Justice, Unity and Democracy (PAJUD), find those reported comments unnecessary and unhelpful to public discourse, and we wish to respond to them.
We state categorically that President Tinubu has, over the decades, faced various political allegations and has had his record subjected to judicial and institutional processes, including decisions of the courts and the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Firstly, we question the moral standing of Mr. Daura to present himself as a crusader for accountability, given the controversies that marked his tenure as DSS Director-General, including the widely reported invasion of judges’ residences in Abuja and Rivers State, and the high-handed treatment of judicial officers during that period.
It is our view that Mr. Daura’s tenure was marked by partisanship and a lack of vision in leading the organisation. As an example, we recall the detention of Mr. Gesila Khan, the then Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Rivers State, over the 2015 general elections, an action that was widely criticised at the time.
It was also during the same period that DSS operatives were reported to have invaded the Ekiti State House of Assembly, an action that drew intervention and criticism from the House of Representatives.
It is also on record that hooded DSS operatives invaded the National Assembly during his tenure, obstructing lawmakers from discharging their constitutional duties in an incident that was televised nationally and internationally, to the embarrassment of the country.
Another case often cited is that of Mr. Jones Abiri, a journalist, who was detained for a prolonged period without trial during Mr. Daura’s tenure, an action that drew criticism from human rights organisations.
Mr. Daura’s predecessors and successors, including Mr. Yusuf Bichi and the present Director-General under President Tinubu, have, in our view, conducted the affairs of the Service with greater regard for the rule of law, dignity and professional standards.
We also recall that Mr. Daura was reported to have written a security report against Mr. Ibrahim Magu, which contributed to the non-confirmation of Mr. Magu by the Nigerian Senate as Chairman of the EFCC, after his name had been forwarded for screening.
It is also a matter of public record that during his tenure, several persons, including Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, Nnamdi Kanu and Omoyele Sowore, were detained despite court orders granting them bail, including orders of the ECOWAS Court.
Mr. Daura’s tenure, in our assessment, was resistant to rational persuasion and superior reasoning. He was also reported to have prevented the EFCC from carrying out its lawful investigation into the Ikoyi funds recovery, and to have interfered in the work of other anti-graft agencies.
If Mr. Daura is today reported to be threatening to release information on Mr. President, we consider such claims to be old, recycled and misleading, and a ploy to deceive the public. His reported association with the Allied People’s Movement (APM) as a vice-presidential running mate to Governor Seyi Makinde has also raised questions about his political motives.
To further justify our position, we recall the reported forceful ejection of his predecessor, Col. Kayode Are (rtd) and his family, from the DSS guest house in their absence, an action we consider arbitrary and an abuse of power. We also recall his reported altercation with then Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State over the attempted operation at judges’ residences in Port Harcourt.
Another statement once credited to him in an engagement with newspaper editors — to the effect that he could cause crisis in Nigeria within five minutes if he wanted — was, in our view, unprofessional and unbecoming of a security chief.
It is our view that the statement credited to Mr. Daura may be part of the reason why, during his tenure, banditry and kidnapping grew in the North-West, North-Central and parts of the North-East, without visible evidence of successful prosecution of actors and their sponsors.
Under Mr. Daura’s watch, criminal elements such as Buharin Daji, Bello Turji, Dogo Gide, Dankarami, Ado Alero and Auwalun Daudawa, among others, became notorious and held parts of the country under siege, yet there was no visible decisive action against them, even after the abduction of Magajin Garin Daura in Katsina State.
We are concerned that Mr. Daura expects commendation from Nigerians when his tenure should be critically examined for acts of omission and commission. There is no doubt that Nigeria cannot make progress without proper investigation of actors, sponsors, collaborators and promoters of banditry — an action Mr. Daura failed to undertake while in office.
In fact, as a demonstration of PAJUD’s genuine interest in solving the security crisis that has bedevilled our country in recent years, we are making a clarion call, in unmistakable terms, urging Nigerian security agencies and their foreign counterparts to revisit the handling of the Boko Haram prisoner swap and ransom payment issues that arose during his tenure as DG, DSS.
In several dossiers and published articles on the activities of Mr. Daura, including an article by Dr. Ann McGregor titled “Nigeria and State Complicity with Terrorists,” questions were raised about ransom payments and prisoner swaps allegedly midwifed by a Swiss intelligence officer, Mr. Pascal Holliger, who was said to be operating as an NGO worker in the North-East.
Subsequently, Boko Haram released a number of Chibok girls and Dapchi captives, excluding Leah Sharibu and others. It was reported that some Boko Haram detainees were exchanged and ransom was paid.
However, it has been alleged in some publications that Mr. Daura was accused of operating an offshore account into which part of the proceeds was diverted. These are allegations that we call on the relevant authorities to investigate thoroughly and transparently, in the interest of justice and accountability.
Against this background of poor leadership and compromise witnessed under Mr. Daura as DG, DSS, and for the people of Nigeria on whose resources he held office, the failures are particularly galling. We shall initiate action with every patriots, security agencies and friends of Nigeria at the international level to demand accountability for alleged gross negligence, intelligence failures, human rights abuses, loss of lives and the proliferation of terrorism witnessed during his tenure.
Signed.
Com Yakubu Dan Abba
Country Representative, PAJUD.
