DSS Arrests Governor Ganduje’s Aide Dawisu For ‘Insulting’ Buhari

DSS has arrested Governor Ganduje’s aide Dawisu for ‘insulting’ Buhari.

NewsOne Nigeria reports that the State Security Service (SSS), self-styled as the Department of State Services (DSS), on Friday arrested Salihu Tanko-Yakasai popularly known as Dawisu, an aide to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, hours after he criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of Nigeria’s security crisis, according to a Kano government official.

This online news platform understands that Dawisu was taken into custody shortly after his Twitter post condemning Friday’s abduction of Zamfara schoolgirls went viral online.

“Clearly, we as APC government, at all levels, have failed Nigerians in the number 1 duty we were elected to do which is to secure lives & properties. Not a single day goes by without some sort of insecurity in this land. This is a shame! Deal with terrorists decisively or resign,” he tweeted on Friday, February 26, 2021.

Dawisu’s arrest was not immediately disclosed, prompting friends to take to social media to raise concerns about his whereabouts on Saturday morning.

A DSS official in Kano State, northern Nigeria, told the Gazette that Dawisu was arrested while returning from the mosque on Friday afternoon, adding that the governor was yet to be informed about the development.

“Alhamdulillah we just confirmed @dawisu is at DSS office,” a Kano government spokesman also said on Twitter Saturday morning, injecting immediate calm into initial apprehension palpable across the microblogging platform.

“@dawisu was arrested and taken to Abuja from kano. #FreeDawisu now!,” another friend said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kano Police Command, said the matter had not been reported. A spokesman for the SSS did not immediately return a request seeking comments on Saturday morning.

Dawisu, who has worked as Mr. Ganduje’s media handler since 2015, was suspended from office for several weeks last year after criticising Mr. Buhari over insecurity. Both Messrs. Ganduje and Buhari are political allies of the ruling All Progressives Congress.