The newly-appointed Director General of the State Security Service, Lawal Daura, had retired from the service before he was recalled Thursday by President Muhammadu Buhari to head the organisation, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Mr. Daura, almost 62, who was born in Daura, Katsina State on August 5, 1953, retired from the SSS in 2013, having reached the statutory retirement age of 60.

President Buhari is also from Daura in Katsina state.

The new DG SSS joined the service in 1982 and was a one-time deputy director, Presidential Communication, Command and Control Center at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He had also served as state director at various times in many states of the Federation including Kano, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, Osun and Imo.
But instead of appointing a new director general from some of the highly qualified officers of the organisation, the President rather went for his kinsman in a move many commentators are describing as nepotism.
But speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on the telephone, a foremost constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Itse Sagay, said it was difficult to condemn the President for appointing his kinsman as DG SSS.

According to Mr. Sagay, the secret police under former President Goodluck Joanthan had become too political and polarised that it was hard for Mr. Buhari to work with them.

“The SSS under former President Goodluck Jonathan had become an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party. You can remember when they invaded the APC office in Lagos claiming that the party was cloning voters’ cards.

“Nigerians also saw how their spokesperson, Marylyn Ogar, became an attack dog for the PDP and went after leaders of the APC. Therefore, it is difficult for Buhari to trust them.”

The legal luminary insisted that the President is only exercising caution in dealing with members of the SSS because of the unfriendly way they treated him in the past.

He expressed sympathy for the President but noted that he would rise to condemn him if the appointment of other key officials of the administration followed a similar pattern.
President Muhammadu Buhari had removed Mr. Daura’s predecessor, Ita Ekpenyong, on Thursday.
Mr. Ekpenyong’s removal and appointment of his replacement was announced by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, via a statement by the Director of Communications in his office, Haruna Imrana.

The former director general later spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, saying he was not sacked but that he resigned at about 10 a.m. Thursday.
That claim could not be independently verified at this time. But a presidency source said even if he resigned, he was compelled to do.
“If he was instructed to submit a resignation letter, is that not a sack?” the source said.

Mr. attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, from 1977 – 1980.

He attended various professional courses both home and abroad including the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS) Kuru.
Mr. Daura is the sixth director general of the SSS, one of the three security agencies created out of the defunct National Security Organisation in 1986.
The removal of Mr. Ekpenyong, who was appointed DG of the agency on September 8, 2010, has long been expected.

Under him, the SSS became openly partisan, especially in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

Rather than gathering intelligence necessary to make the country safe, the agency busied itself more with harassing and arresting opposition figures, ransacking firms and offices with ties to the All Progressives Congress and appearing on television to disparage opposition politicians and their party.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/186003-buhari-recalls-kinsman-from-retirement-appoints-him-dg-sss.html
Cc lalasticlala

This is for MemphisDepay and my groupies.


Buhari!! Don't let those that voted you in down! And this one you're appointing only northeners

I don't agree with the author. I think the northerners are the most suitable people for the job. In addition, he need someone he can trust for such a sensitive job and not a mere southerner who are not trustworthy. *Sarcarsm *
In all seriousness, I genuinely hope they would serve the country in fairness and with dignity.

Following

He ignored the entire senior cadre of the agency simply because they are Southerners mostly, from Bassey Eteng to the least, even if he wanted to pick a Northerner he should have picked from the service rather than a 62 year old retiree whose only qualification is him being Buhari's kinsman who was in the SSS, When Jonathan appointed Ekpenyong he was already Director Operations, same for Gadzama who Yar’Adua appointed, the nation's premier intelligence agency should not be destroyed on the altar of ethnic bigotry

Dollyak:
I don't agree with the author. I think the northerners are the most suitable for the job. In addition, he need someone he can trust for such a sensitive job and not a mere southerner who are not trustworthy.

What!!! This comment is a definition of a joke...

I won't blame Buhari though, the positions of NSA and DGSS Are two critical and powerful positions that any president keeps close to heart, that's why Jonathan initially had Gen Azazi and Ekpenyong initially although it must be mentioned that Jonathan appointed a Northern prince Dasuki as NSA for the last two years and Gen Gusau as DefMin, That said though PMB should have picked someone from service rather than a retiree.

fitzmayowa:


What!!! This comment is a definition of a joke...

Well, that is a common theme with each appointments on nl. Don't you worry, nl believes they will be fair to each region, so no need to panic.

Jonathan had a Northern NSA and Ita Ekpenyong was the most senior SSS Director when GEJ made him DG so it was not ethnic, Buhari is just a bigoted fellow

.

Go on buhari keep giving appointments to only ur boko brothers

SenseiX:
He ignored the entire senior cadre of the agency simply because they are Southerners mostly, from Bassey Eteng to the least, even if he wanted to pick a Northerner he should have picked from the service rather than a 62 year old retiree whose only qualification is him being Buhari's kinsman who was in the SSS, When Jonathan appointed Ekpenyong he was already Director Operations, same for Gadzama who Yar’Adua appointed, the nation's premier intelligence agency should not be destroyed on the altar of ethnic bigotry

In as much as i gree with some part of your post, i would like to add PMB reserves the right to appoint whoever he deems fit that can perform on the job....

The main thing we should be after is the competence, performance and achievement of the new appointee on the job...IMHO

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Dollyak:
I don't agree with the author. I think the northerners are the most suitable people for the job. In addition, he need someone he can trust for such a sensitive job and not a mere southerner who are not trustworthy.
In all seriousness, I genuinely hope they would serve the country in fairness and with dignity.

yes he will be right , even though he wash his poo for you. Buhari should be fair in selection of his cabinet if not it will brings his fall , do you think he can win the election if the southwest don't vote for him?huh.

fitzmayowa:


In as much as i gree with some part of your post, i would like to add PMB reserves the right to appoint whoever he deems fit that can perform on the job....

The main thing we should be after is the competence, performance and achievement of the new appointee on the job...IMHO

Indeed. Let's be realistic do you actually think they can perform fairly without an ounce of bias?

Dollyak:
I don't agree with the author. I think the northerners are the most suitable people for the job. In addition, he need someone he can trust for such a sensitive job and not a mere southerner who are not trustworthy.
In all seriousness, I genuinely hope they would serve the country in fairness and with dignity.

I'm tempted to agree with you. The sensitivity of the position, the partisanship of the DSS, the cognate experience of the new appointee and President Buhari's last experience in power are issues that could easily justify this decision of his. It's now up to them to discharge their responsibilities diligently.

Dollyak:

Indeed. Let's be realistic do you actually think they can perform fairly without an ounce of bias?

Not really, if anyone comes out and say he/she is not bias then we are just fooling ourselves, but the main thing is performance on the job and not letting the "ounce biasness" affect the job...


Our intelligence arm(SSS) is a joke compared to what we have world over, if it will take the new appointed daura to fix it then so be it, no matter how ethnically biased the appointment might be...IMHO

fitzmayowa:


In as much as i gree with some part of your post, i would like to add PMB reserves the right to appoint whoever he deems fit that can perform on the job....

The main thing we should be after is the competence, performance and achievement of the new appointee on the job...IMHO

Does that mean nobody in the entire directorial cadre of the SSS that was competent enough that Buhari had to bring a mid level retiree to head the organisation, Daura only got the job because he's from Daura....nothing about competence here, the outgoing DG was the Operations Director before he was promoted to DG BY GEJ, a stark difference from this

gullible goats stay tuned. Wait until you see the Ministers list.. Welcome to the circus where clowns run the show I wonder how many cows Mr. Dura has, I'm sure they herd together that's how he got this juicy position that he is not qualified for. Chai Buhari!!

SenseiX:

Does that mean nobody in the entire directorial cadre of the SSS that was competent enough that Buhari had to bring a mid level retiree to head the organisation, Daura only got the job because he's from Daura....nothing about competence here, the outgoing DG was the Operations Director before he was promoted to DG BY GEJ, a stark difference from this

Am not defending the actions of PMB though, but for him to have appointed a retiree to come head the SSS, he must have seen something in him, plus you know promotion(refering to the promotion under GEJ) at the top cadre in the SSS sometimes involves politics which the SSS isn't free from....


The appointment might be seen as favouring someone from his "backyard" but i don't think that takes away anything from the profile of the person appointed...IMHO

fitzmayowa:


Not really, if anyone comes out and he/she is not bias then we are just fooling ourselves, but the main thing is performance on the job and not letting the "ounce biasness" affect the job...


Our intelligence arm(SSS) is a joke compared to what we have world over, if it will take the new appointed daura to fix it then so be it, no matter how ethnically biased the appointment might be...IMHO

The SSS has its flaws but they remain the closest thing to a semi competent security agency that Nigeria has, the fact that bombings don't go off in Abuja in years is primarily due to their efforts in neutralising all the BH cells in and around Abuja especially the once vibrant Suleja cells, same goes for capturing several top BH commanders

fitzmayowa:


Not really, if anyone comes out and he/she is not bias then we are just fooling ourselves, but the main thing is performance on the job and not letting the "ounce biasness" affect the job...


Our intelligence arm(SSS) is a joke compared to what we have world over, if it will take the new appointed daura to fix it then so be it, no matter how ethnically biased the appointment might be...IMHO

True, but there are some critical positions you need to be balanced. There are many positions I am worried about one of which has to do with the census. If we all fold our arms and let the northerners put themselves in those positions we would be susceptible to rigging. I mean how can you trust a region that still maintain kano is more populated than lagos.
People are not thinking beyond to see the implications of some of these appointments.

It's just nepotism. ..u people should stop defending rubbish, a retiree for that matter

Dollyak:

True, but there are some critical positions you need to be balanced. There are many positions I am worried about one of which has to do with the census. If we all fold our arms and let the northerners put themselves in those positions we would be susceptible to rigging. I mean how can you trust a region that still maintain kano is more populated than lagos.
People are not thinking beyond to see the implications of some of these appointments.

Very true, this is indeed a genuine concern and the onus lies on PMB to apply the "federal character" thing in all his appointment and not make the government a northern government...IMHO

SenseiX:

Does that mean nobody in the entire directorial cadre of the SSS that was competent enough that Buhari had to bring a mid level retiree to head the organisation, Daura only got the job because he's from Daura....nothing about competence here, the outgoing DG was the Operations Director before he was promoted to DG BY GEJ, a stark difference from this

That's not completely true. Jonathan also dismissed the then DSS DG Afakriya Gadzama and replaced him with fellow Niger Deltan Ekpenyong a few months after Yar'adua's death.

Furthermore, it is believed that Ekpenyong managed intelligence successfully during the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State, where he was the State Director and this was said to have influenced the then President Jonathan’s decision to appoint him as the Director General.

Rawani:


That's not completely true. Jonathan dismissed the then DSS DG Afakriya Gadzama and replaced him with fellow Niger Deltan Ekpenyong a few months after Yar'adua's death.

Furthermore, it is believed that Ekpenyong managed intelligence successfully during the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State, where he was the State Director and this was said to have influenced the then President Jonathan’s decision to appoint him as the Director General.

You are wrong, Here's a Wikipedia extract from his profile
Ekpeyong was born in Cross River State.[2] He studied at the University of Calabar, obtaining a BA (Hons) in History in 1982, and then a Masters in Philosophy. He was the first director of the Institute of Security Studies in Abuja, a training school for Intelligence Officers. He then was appointed director of the Senior Staff Development Centre of the SSS in Bauchi. Ekpenyong held in turn the positions of SSS director in the states of Bauchi, Kwara, Lagos, Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory. Before being appointed SSS Director General he was Acting National Director (Operations) of the SSS.[3] He managed intelligence successefully during the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State, and this is said to have influenced Jonathan in his favor.[
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ita_Ekpeyong
He was Gadzama's No 2, Operations is the next most senior role so he fully merited his becoming DG not because he was from SS, plus if GEJ wanted his kinsman, he would have picked an Ijaw man from a core Niger Delta state like Delta, Bayelsa or Rivers

Dollyak:
I don't agree with the author. I think the northerners are the most suitable people for the job. In addition, he need someone he can trust for such a sensitive job and not a mere southerner who are not trustworthy.
In all seriousness, I genuinely hope they would serve the country in fairness and with dignity.

Remember his former regime was toppled by a Northerner. IBB..... So you made absolutely no sense by saying a Northerner is most suitable for the job...

SenseiX:

You are wrong, Here's a Wikipedia extract from his profile
Ekpeyong was born in Cross River State.[2] He studied at the University of Calabar, obtaining a BA (Hons) in History in 1982, and then a Masters in Philosophy. He was the first director of the Institute of Security Studies in Abuja, a training school for Intelligence Officers. He then was appointed director of the Senior Staff Development Centre of the SSS in Bauchi. Ekpenyong held in turn the positions of SSS director in the states of Bauchi, Kwara, Lagos, Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory. Before being appointed SSS Director General he was Acting National Director (Operations) of the SSS.[3] He managed intelligence successefully during the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State, and this is said to have influenced Jonathan in his favor.[
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ita_Ekpeyong
He was Gadzama's No 2, Operations is the next most senior role so he fully merited his becoming DG not because he was from SS, plus if GEJ wanted his kinsman, he would have picked an Ijaw man from a core Niger Delta state like Delta, Bayelsa or Rivers

Valid point

This is our turn, so anyone mad should visit the market for complete madness

the terrorist president from daura will definitely destroy this country.

SenseiX:

You are wrong, Here's a Wikipedia extract from his profile
Ekpeyong was born in Cross River State.[2] He studied at the University of Calabar, obtaining a BA (Hons) in History in 1982, and then a Masters in Philosophy. He was the first director of the Institute of Security Studies in Abuja, a training school for Intelligence Officers. He then was appointed director of the Senior Staff Development Centre of the SSS in Bauchi. Ekpenyong held in turn the positions of SSS director in the states of Bauchi, Kwara, Lagos, Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory. Before being appointed SSS Director General he was Acting National Director (Operations) of the SSS.[3] He managed intelligence successefully during the 2007 governorship election in Anambra State, and this is said to have influenced Jonathan in his favor.[
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ita_Ekpeyong
He was Gadzama's No 2, Operations is the next most senior role so he fully merited his becoming DG not because he was from SS, plus if GEJ wanted his kinsman, he would have picked an Ijaw man from a core Niger Delta state like Delta, Bayelsa or Rivers

How was I wrong? What was Gadzama's offence?

The fact is Jonathan dismissed Gadzama a northerner, and replaced him with fellow Niger Deltan Ekpenyong in September 2010, three months after taking office.

Is that a lie?

Wailing wailers everywhere. The president has made his choice that he's comfortable with. DSS is not a joke to toy with.
Next, quickly sack and probe that Marryln Ogah of a corrupt, partisan and inept woman. She must go asap.