Authorities of the Presidential Villa,
Abuja have formally removed officials of the Department of State
Services from spots where they
can perform “close protection roles” for
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The decision to restrict the officials’
access to the President was the peak of the inter-agency rivalry that
has been rocking security agencies in the seat of power since Buhari was
inaugurated on May 29.
Our correspondent on Thursday saw a copy
of a memo redeploying the DSS officials from 10 beats that they had
hitherto been manning inside the Villa.
The
memo issued by the Aide-De-Camp to the President, Lt. Col. Lawal
Abubakar, and dated June 24, 2015 was titled, “Redeployment of
Department of State Services personnel from close protection roles for
Mr. President and some duty locations within the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.”
Abubakar explained that the decision to
strip the DSS officials of their roles was part of efforts to enhance
security within the villa.
He said the development was necessitated by “recent events.”
He however did not disclose what the events were.
The ADC directed personnel of the Armed
Forces and the Nigeria Police who he said were trained as presidential
body guards to take over the DSS officials’ duties of providing “close
and immediate protection” for the President with immediate effect.
He listed the beats and locations from
where DSS officials were withdrawn and replaced with PBGs to include the
administrative reception and passage; service chiefs’ gate; residence
reception; resident gate and office reception.
“However, the personnel of the DSS in
conjunction with other security forces are to man other duty beats and
locations within the immediate outer perimeter of the Presidential
Villa,” the ADC wrote.
Meanwhile, officials of the DSS who were
chased away from their beats on Wednesday were also not allowed access
to their duty posts when they resumed work on Thursday morning.
Their beats had already been taken over by plain-clothed military personnel.
Many of them were seen under the trees discussing the development in hush tones.
Those who were manning the two of the
gates leading to the villa as well as the gate of the old Banquet Hall
were however not affected as they were seen at their duty posts.
Some of them, who spoke with our
correspondent on the condition of anonymity, wondered why whatever issue
that could have arisen could not be resolved with the DSS authorities.
“If they feel that the DSS erred during
the campaigns, some of us expect that they should also vent their anger
on the management and not the entire DSS who served the President
bewteen 1984 and 1985,” one of them said.
Another official said, “Instead for the
government to be promoting inter-agency rivalry in the country, they
should have simply called the DG SSS to withdraw his operatives and not
to set the military against the DSS. They should post us out instead of
encouraging this unwarranted inter-agency rancour.”
Our correspondent learnt that the
development may also claim the current Chief Security Officer to the
President and the Administrative Officer who are also DSS officials.
It will be recalled that the Presidency
had in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Wednesday said Buhari had not given any
order for the expulsion of DSS officials from the Presidential Villa.
Adesina however admitted that a reorganisation of security at the seat of power was underway.
Source: Punch Newspaper.
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