President Buhari Gives Aso Rock Army Guards Their Marching Orders - Reinstates DSS As Presidential Guard

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate dismissal of all Army personnel from the Presidential Villa and the swift reinstatement of the officials of the Department of State Security Service, DSS, as his official body guards.

It comes as a personal victory for the President’s Chief Security Officer, Bashir Abubakar who has always voiced his displeasure at the decision to allow the Army as the Presidential body guard. 

A memo was sent out to security agencies including The National Security Adviser, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director -General of the DSS, which quoted the exact sections of the constitution that empowers the DSS on its task on guarding the President.

“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, overzealousness, limited knowledge or outright display of ignorance in future”.