Buhari safe after Aso Rock shooting, says presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari’s life is not in danger owing to the shooting on Thursday night at Aso Rock, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, declared yesterday.

In a statement, the presidency said the incident was being investigated. A pandemonium had arisen on the day in question when the wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Buhari, accompanied by her children, Zahra, Halima and Yusuf, reportedly took a team of policemen led by her Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to allegedly confront the Personal Assistant to her husband, Sabiu Yusuf (popularly known as Tunde).

Although not too visible to many, he is the son of the President’s niece and younger sister to Mamman Daura, the Nigerian leader’s closest confidant.

Yusuf, called Tunde, a name he took after Tunde Idiagbon, the second-in-command to then Major General Muhammadu Buhari during their military regime, is said to be very close to the President and highly respected in the Villa.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Aswiaju Bola Tinubu, once described him as a “resourceful administrator in the President’s personal office” in 2017 when he was getting married.

The description underscores Yusuf’s influence in the corridors of powers as a presidential aide since 2015.He had allegedly refused to self-isolate after his trip to Lagos to see his wife, who recently gave birth to a baby boy.

Another account claimed that Yusuf had travelled out to London on a business trip with a well-known oil magnet from Lagos State. A verbal exchange and near fisticuff reportedly ensued between him and the First Family, forcing him to flee the scene and allegedly taking refuge in the residence of Mallam Daura for the said night.

A source claimed: “As the Sabiu vehicle crossed the gate, there were gunshots about three times but the vehicle managed to escape.” However, there were conflicting versions to the incident, which was unusual and witnessed only during the military coups.

A Villa source said the shots were to deflate the escaping vehicle for Yusuf to be arrested. Another yet had it that the action was to frighten and halt the fleeing automobile.

But confirming the development in the statement, the presidency stressed that there was no cause for alarm, as the nation’s first citizen was hale and hearty.

The document read in part: “The Presidency wishes to acknowledge concerns expressed by several members of the public regarding the recent incident among the occupants of the State House which escalation led to the arrest of some staff by the police.

“This is to assure all and everyone that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, is not, and was not at anytime, in any form of danger arising either from deadly infections or the reported incident by security personnel which is currently under investigation.

“This particular incident happened outside the main residence of the President.”