THE Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police High Command have begun full investigations into the alleged shooting by the police personnel attached to the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, which allegedly occurred at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
A highly placed security source, who revealed this to Sunday Tribune, on Saturday, said that all the personnel involved in the incident were still being detained on the orders of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu.
The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, on Friday, cried out that her staff members were being detained by the police.
The development came amidst online reports that some of the First Lady’s aides had been arrested on the orders of a Personal Assistant to the President, who according to an online newspaper, had travelled to Lagos in violation of President Buhari’s subsisting order stopping inter-state movements because of COVID-19.
Mrs Buhari’s security aides were said to have asked him to self-quarantine for 14 days before he could be allowed back into the Villa, a demand that reportedly led to the disagreement which led to the arrest of the aides of the First Lady who were said to have fired shots into the air.
Consequently, the IGP Adamu was said to have visited the Presidential Villa on Friday for an on the spot assessment after which he reportedly ordered the arrest and detention of the police personnel involved and immediately instituted a high powered investigation panel to look into the matter.
The source added that the police chief also made arrangements for the replacement of the arrested aides of the wife of the president but doubted if the arrangement was accepted by her.
The source, however, disclosed that the Department of State Service, which is responsible for the security of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, has instituted its own independent investigation into the matter.
“All I can tell you now is that the matter is being investigated by the nation’s Security Agencies to avoid future occurrence. It is a serious security breach… and those involved will surely explain themselves,” the source said.
When contacted, the Spokesman of the DSS, Dr Peter Afunaya, said that investigation was in progress on the matter while the Police High Command was yet to make any official statement over the incident.
The wife of the President had tweeted about the reality of the deadly coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe on Thursday
She called on all relevant government agencies to enforce the Quarantine Act signed by the President and ensure that no one was found violating this law and the NCDC guidelines, especially on interstate travel.
She also called on the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, to release her assigned members of staff, who were still in the custody of the Police.
According to her, “that Covid-19 is real and still very much around in our nation is not in doubt.
“Consequently, I call on all relevant Government Agencies to enforce the Quarantine Act signed by Mr President and ensure no one is found violating this law and the NCDC guidelines especially on interstate travel without the necessary exemptions for movement of essentials
“Anyone who does that should at the very least be made to undergo 14 days mandatory isolation no matter who the person is, no one should be above the law and the Police command will do well to remember that.
“Finally, I call on the IGP to release my assigned Staff who are still in the custody of the Police in order to avoid putting their lives in danger or exposure to Covid-19 while in their custody.”