Founder of PRNigeria, Yushau Shuaib, has weighed in on the rumoured death of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and dismissed it as a figment of the imagination of its peddlers.
The media expert, who is very close to Dasuki and the family, spoke in a statement, yesterday.
Sharing a recent picture of the Sokoto prince, Shuaib noted that day after Dasuki’s family denied the rumours that he was dead, some people still believe Dasuki might have passed away in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The statement reads: “Early in the morning of February 23, 2019, when Nigerians went to the poll for Presidential and National Assembly Elections, I received several calls and messages from mostly Editors trying to confirm a rumour on purported death in security custody of the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki.
“Dasuki has been in the custody for more than three years despite being granted bails by more than five high courts while the ECOWAS Court of Justice also ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to release him immediately from illegal detention.
“He had recently berated the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari over his continued detention and disobedience to various court orders that admitted him on bails since December, 2015.
“Alarmed by some audios being spread on the social media on the rumoured death of the spymaster on the Election Day, I quickly called his family members including his wife and sibling for enquiry.
“They expressed similar shock and that they had even received condolence messages from people on the same speculation. One of the family members also told me of their visit to Sambo Dasuki the previous night at the Department of Security Services (DSS) where he is being detained.
“I put a call to the spokesperson of DSS, Mr. Peter Afunanya, who told me that the ex-NSA is alive. I was later granted approval to visit the ex-NSA that morning for confirmation.
“On arrival at the DSS reception, I was a bit worried seeing a media crew from the government-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), led by Talatu Ezurike at the premises of the secret service.
“We were later ushered into the office of DSS spokesperson who described the news of Dasuki’s demise as fake, callous and inciting,” saying: ‘There is no iota of truth or credibility about the rumoured death of Col. Sambo Dasuki. We make bold to state that the former NSA is very much in good health and not dead. Therefore, it behooves the general public to disbelief and condemns the atrocious online story that Dasuki has died in DSS’ custody.”
“He later led us to meet the former National Security Adviser in a modest room that looks like an office. With a cup of tea before him, Dasuki looked relaxed and unperturbed as he welcomed us. He cracked jokes on his rumoured death.