LAW UNDER PRESIDENT BUHARI IS A RESPECTER OF PERSONS: Presidency Clarifies Daura’s Status, Says He’s Being Debriefed, Not Detained

The Presidency Wednesday clarified the status of the former Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Mr. Lawal Daura, who was dismissed last week, saying he was being debriefed contrary to reports that he was under detention.

Making this disclosure while appearing on ARISE NEWS television programme, Morning Show, anchored by former presidential spokesman, Mr. Reuben Abati, the president’s media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, explained that given the sensitive nature of Daura’s schedule, it was necessary for him to interact more with his replacement, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa, in order to do proper handover of his former office.

Daura was fired last week by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, following the siege to the National Assembly by hooded and heavily armed operatives of the DSS, reportedly on his orders.

Osinbajo said the siege was an unauthorized assault on the rule of law that gravely embarrassed the federal government.

He ordered an inquiry into the incidence, necessitating the interrogation of Daura by the police, which took him into custody.

But Adesina told Abati on Arise TV that somebody of the status of Daura with a lot of security matters at his disposal has to be properly debriefed before he can be totally freed, revealing, for instance, that before Daura’s sack, the government was already inching towards a breakthrough on the release of Leah Sharibu.

He also disagreed with Abati that Daura is intentionally being detained instead of being charged to court if found culpable in any act, saying denying him freedom, for now, is rather a necessary move not only to debrief him but also to ensure that he properly hands over to his successor.

He disclosed that the level of progress made so far by the sacked DG on Leah Sharibu’s case, for instance, needs to be handed over to his successor, adding that Daura recorded some levels of progress before his ill-fated exit.
Leah was one of the 110 Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapped earlier in the year by Boko Haram.

She was held back by the terrorist group when her peers were freed, following her refusal to renounce her Christian faith.

But Adesina said, “I wouldn’t call that detention really. You know that a person of that caliber (Daura) needed to be debriefed and he needs to hand over properly. This is security. On security at that level, you don’t ask the man to go. No. There must be proper debriefing and handing over. Whether we like it or not, there were some milestone achievements under Daura – the Chibok girls’ kidnap, which happened under the government you (Abati) served, on which there was no headway (the release of some of them happened under Daura).

“There is this problem that it is not everything that the hunter sees in the forest that he talks about. But at the risk of revealing something, l know that a breakthrough was about being achieved about Leah Sharibu before what happened to the DG, DSS happened.

“Then, do you think he should walk away without handing over to whoever is succeeding him? That is why there has to be that interface between him and his former subordinates who are now running the show for a while.”

Asked to reveal the untold story behind the ill-fated takeover of the National Assembly on August 7, by the DSS, Adesina who said the story was not a secret, added that the DSS move on that day had the tendency to harm democracy, portray the government in a bad light and consequently, Daura was fired.

He affirmed that the presidency was not consulted before that decision was taken, pointing out that even if consultation had been made on the matter, the presidency might still not have approved it.

He added, “People always want to hear what they think is the story. The story has been told that there was a blockade at the National Assembly, which was not authorised and it had the tendency of hurting democracy. It had the tendency of making government look bad and the person, who was behind that blockade, faced the music. If there was consultation, the presidency might not have authorised it.”