The Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Sani Baba-Inna is now being held by the Department of the State Security services (DSS) over an alleged N2.5 billion fraud.
The Nigerian Tribune, quoting an unnamed security source in Abuja, said the matter was initially reported to the Police last week by the wife of the President, who ordered his arrest.
According to the source, in her complaint, the First Lady alleged that the embattled ADC received huge donations from politicians and business people on her behalf, and kept the cash to himself without her knowledge which amounted to N2.5billion.
The source revealed that consequent upon the discovery, the First Lady requested the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to arrest and compel the ADC to account for the money immediately.
It was gathered that upon the receipt of the report, the Inspector General of Police directed his special squad to carry out the Presidential assignment which prompted the arrest of the ADC and was confronted with the allegation from his principal.
According to a source at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. “the IGP said the matter must be investigated immediately and the house of the ADC was searched but surprisingly only N1,200 cash was found n the House
“His bank account was also investigated and had only a balance of N30,000 while the transaction records showed that most credits to the account were his salaries and allowances
“Thereafter, the police contacted those named as donors of the controversial funds but that they all denied making the donations attributed to them
“For instance, one of those named was the IGP himself,” but the IGP said he has never passed any money through the ADC to the Presidency “.
Our source stated that when the finding was made known to the Presidency, the wife of the President was said to have suspected a foul play on the part of the Police and directed that the embattled ADC be handed over to the DSS for further thorough investigation.
The source stated that in strict compliance with the directive, the IGP directed his squad to hands off the matter and handled over the ADC to the DSS and had since remained in the protective custody of the Service
But the First Lady, last night, distanced herself from the arrest and detention of her ADC, CSP Sani Baban-Inna, over the said N2.5 billion fraud, saying that she has no hand in Baban-Inna’s travails.
The President’s wife expressed dismay by the revelation from initial investigations by security operatives that have shown that CSP Baban-Inna who has been her ADC since 2016, and has been associated with her could use the opportunity to defraud unsuspecting associates and officials.
Mrs. Buhari in a statement by her Director of Information, Suleiman Haruna in Abuja Tuesday said the arrest and detention of the ADC by the police was within the jurisdiction of the force. The statement read, “The attention of wife of the President, Dr. Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has been drawn to some media publications and releases purporting illegal detention of her Aide De Camp (ADC) over allegations of fraud.
“The story as it pertains to her ADC, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Sani Baban-Inna has it that he has been detained on the orders of Her Excellency for dropping her name and defrauding unsuspecting officials and associates. “She wishes to use this opportunity to refute such allegation and to state that she has no hand in his arrest and detention. “CSP Sani Baban-Inna has been her ADC since 2016 and has been associated with her ever since. To the utter dismay of Her Excellency, he has used the opportunity to defraud unsuspecting associates and officials as initial investigations have shown.” Justifying that the police acted within its powers, she said, “The Nigeria Police Force, his employers arrested him to investigate the allegations leveled against him, this, being within their jurisdiction. “She therefore wishes to use this opportunity to inform the general public that she has never sent any of her staff to collect any favours on her behalf or on behalf of her children and will never do so. She is therefore imploring anyone that has been defrauded by Mr. Baban-Inna to get across to him to retrieve whatever he took from them. Mrs. Buhari wishes to reiterate that she will not condone fraudulent behavior by any of her staff. “She uses this opportunity to call on all those in positions of authority to rise above intimidation by their aides and deal with such attitudes as extortion by name-dropping, especially within the Presidency. As she always emphasizes, this government was voted into office based on the trust and confidence of the people.”