ZCZC
BFF-33
NIGERIA-POLITICS-SECURITY
Nigeria names new spy chief
ABUJA, Sept 14, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Nigeria has appointed a new head of the
country’s intelligence agency, after his predecessor was sacked when security
operatives blockaded parliament.
The presidency said on Thursday evening that Yusuf Magaji Bichi has taken
over from Lawal Musa Daura as director-general of the Department of State
Services.
Daura — a key ally of President Muhammadu Buhari — was dismissed after
ordering what the government called the “unauthorised takeover” of the
National Assembly in early August.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said at the time the actions, which
prevented lawmakers from entering parliament, were “a gross violation of
constitutional order” and the rule of law.
The DSS under Daura was often accused of high-handedness and abuses
against perceived political opponents of the Buhari administration.
The blockade came after the leader of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, defected
to the main opposition from the ruling party.
Saraki, who has been at loggerheads with the executive since he took up
the post in 2015, has since declared his intention to stand for president
next year.
Buhari’s office said the new spy chief was a “core secret service
operative” who began his career with the Nigerian Security Organisation
(NSO), the forerunner of the DSS.
Nigeria is facing multiple security threats, including from Boko Haram,
where there is mounting concern about its IS-backed faction after a string of
recent attacks on the military.
Security services are also stretched by a flare-up of violence in the
long-running resources conflict between farmers and herders in central
states.
There remain lingering threats to oil and gas infrastructure from
militants in the southern Niger Delta region.
BSS/AFP/RY/1708 hrs