Shake up in DSS: Buhari’s CSO sacked, Ogar demoted

Newly appointed acting Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, ostensibly on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the sacking of Abdulrahman Mani, the Chief Security Officer to Buhari and immediately replaced him with Bashir Abubakar, an Assistant Director in the Bayelsa State command of the DSS.

Mani has been posted to Ebonyi State.

Daura also demoted Ms. Marilyn Ogar, the agency’s former spokesperson, and many other officers of the agency who were recently promoted in the twilight of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in what was seen as a politically motivated exercise. The directive was via memo.

It would be recalled that Mani and that Aide-de-Camp to the President, Lt.-Col. Lawal Abubakar had engaged in a supremacy war when Abubakar issued a memo redeploying DSS officials from 10 beats that they had hitherto been manning inside the Presidential Villa.

He had explained that the decision to strip the DSS officials of their traditional roles was part of efforts to enhance general security within the villa.

But in a rejoinder dated June 26, the former CSO directed the DSS officials to disregard the ADC’s order. Mani had argued that the duties being performed by DSS personnel in the Presidential Villa are backed by relevant statues and gazetted instruments.

Also affected in the shake-up, it was learnt, is the Administrative Officer in the Presidential Villa Widi Liman, who though earlier appointed by Buhari was said to have been redeployed to the Oyo State Command of the service.

Read also: Buhari’s ADC ignorant, overzealous -CSO

Ogar was seen as a controversial official of the DSS who often made statements that were deemed partisan. Her promotion was viewed as a reward for doing dirty political jobs for former President Goodluck Jonathan and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Promotions of officers in the DSS are usually done at the end of each year, but Ogar and 44 others were promoted last March. Even so, their promotion was not made public until May.

It was learned that Ogar is currently on vacation, and is reportedly visiting her children resident in the US. In addition to her premature promotion, she was also offered a generous scholarship to do a PhD in the UK, according to a source at the agency.

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