AHEAD of the 2019 elections, Coalition if Civil Society for Justice and Equity, a group, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to take the issue of national security as priority to prevent the opposition from using it to campaign against him, hence charging him to take action against those attempting to re loot the recovered $43m NIA fund.

Executive Converner of the group, Danesi Momoh Prince expressed this while briefing the press in Abuja on Sunday, where he said failure to act would be termed as being incompetent, while referring to happenings at the National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

“Mr President is reminded that this matter borders on National Security which must not be toyed with, as his oppositions are waiting patiently to use it as a campaign massage against his re-election bid if he so seek to, in theming his administration as incompetent.

“It is pertinent and very crucial to us as a nation to discuss the activities of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, which borders on National security,” he said.

The group stressed that the president must be told of some current situation that is targeted at destroying the good image of  the country, especially before the international community now that the entire African Region has appointed him as the Anti Corruption Champion in Africa.

“You may recall that, Mr President suspended the then Director General of the NIA, Mr Oke, who was later removed as the DG, citing $44m stashed in the Osboren apartment in Lagos. The sack was welcomed by Nigerians and a confidence was rebuilt on the Anti-corruption war of the Buhari’s administration.

“Immediately after the removal of Mr Oke, a carrier Ambassador to the Republic of Chad, Mr Mohammed Dauda who was the most senior director as stipulated by the NIA rule, was recalled and appointed as the Acting Director General,” he said.

Prince said that they learnt that, some powerful Nigerians attempted to share the recovered $44m which Mohammed Dauda objected to, and instead, he protected the funds for the government hence the gang up against him.

“Available record shows that, Mr Mohammed Dauda is due for retirement in September, 2018, having served the organization for 35 years. Within this period, he was never queried by the organisation for any wrongdoing. He is a professional intelligence officer whose short acting era rejuvenated the intelligence gathering that improved our national security.

“He was framed and tried by a committee headed by Babagana Kingibe whose secretary was Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, a retired Deputy Director with the NIA, a position short of the full status of a Director as stipulates by the NIA rule,  was recommended and appointed as the current DG of the NIA, while Mr Mohammed was dismissed from service,” he alleged.

The convener described the development as the highest level of victimization and persecution on the surface of the earth, stressing that, “peculiarly, this can only happen in Nigeria.”

The group therefore, charged Buhari to as a matter of urgency recall Mr Mohammad Dauda back to service while those involved in the quagmire ridiculing the image of Nigeria should be prosecuted immediately in order to rebuild Nigeria’s image before the International Community.

The group, however, commended the president for his untiring efforts to bring to an end, the ongoing hardship across the country.

– Mar. 19, 2018 @ 19:43 GMT |