Sambo Dasuki

Sambo Dasuki
Dasuki at Chatham House, January 2015
Nigeria's National Security Adviser
In office
22 June 2012 – July 2015
Preceded by Gen. O.A. Azazi
Succeeded by Maj-Gen. M.B. Monguno
Personal details
Born Sokoto State
Alma mater Nigerian Defence Academy
Military service
Allegiance  Nigeria
Service/branch Nigerian Army
Rank Colonel

Sambo Dasuki (born December 2, 1954) is a retired Nigerian Army Colonel and former National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President of Nigeria. He was appointed NSA on June 22, 2012, following the removal of General Owoye Andrew Azazi.[1]

Early life and education

Dasuki was born on December 2, 1954, in Wusasa, Zaria, Kaduna State, to Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto[2] and is the first son[3] of the deposed sultan. Dasuki attended Kaduna Capital School for his elementary education and later Government College, Kaduna, for his secondary education. He entered the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1972 and was classmates with future officers such as Colonel Kayode Are, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, and Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye.[4] Dasuki received his commission from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1974 and was posted to an Army Headquarters platoon.

Coup d'état participation

Sambo Dasuki (then a major) and military assistant to General Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi participated in the 1983 Nigerian coup d'état that installed Major General Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria's Head of State. Later, Dasuki was among four majors (Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, Lawan Gwadabe, and Abdulmumini Aminu)[5] who arrested the Nigerian head of state Muhammadu Buhari in the 1985 palace coup led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida. Sambo Dasuki has consistently denied arresting Buhari.[6] Following the coup, Dasuki was made Aide-de-camp (ADC) to General Ibrahim Babangida.

Career

Dasuki was also a former managing director of Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited (NSPMC). He resigned in protest from the NSPMC following its controversial privatisation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.[7]

National Security Adviser

In early 2015, while serving as national security advisor, Dasuki informed the Independent National Electoral Commission "that operations against Boko Haram militants meant the military "will be unable to provide adequate security" for the upcoming 2015 Nigerian general election. The elections, scheduled for 15 February 2015, were postponed until March 28.[8]

Also in April 2015, he insisted that the Nigerian military would ensure that Sambisa Forest, the last fortress of Boko Haram, would be liberated before the May 29 inauguration of President Buhari's new government.[9]

Coincidentally, on the one-year anniversary of the abduction of Chibok school girls, Dasuki insisted that government was concerned about the welfare of every single Nigerian, not only the Chibok girls, as terrorists abducted other innocent Nigerian girls, boys, men, and women, and security agencies were making all efforts to rescue them. The military rescued more than 300 abductees a few weeks afterwards.[10]

Alleged fraudulent activities

On December 1, 2015, Dasuki was arrested by Nigeria's State Security Service (SSS) for allegedly stealing $2 billion and accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy 12 helicopters, four fighter jets, and ammunition meant for the Nigeria's military campaign against Boko Haram Islamist militants.[11] As of December 2017, despite being granted bails by four different High Court judges in Nigeria and ECOWAS Court, Dasuki has remained in detention.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New NSA Sambo visits Damaturu". Punch Newspapers. June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  2. ↑ Lere, Babagoro, & Adebayo. "Unmasking Sambo Dasuki". The Daily Trust of Nigeria. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Unmasking Sambo Dasuki, The New NSA". Osun Defender. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "NDA Regular Course 12 Holds AGM". This Day Live Nigeria. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Siollun, Max. "Babangida: His Life And Times (Part 4 )". Gamji. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Yusuf, Alli. "1985 coup: Dasuki denies arresting Buhari". TheNation. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Dasuki, Sambo; Ali, Yusuf; Odufowokan, Dare (June 30, 2012). "Unmasking Sambo Dasuki". The Nation newspaper. The Nation Newspapers and Publishing Co. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  8. ↑ "Nigeria Plans to Postpone Elections Due to Lack of Security". Deutsche Welle - allAfrica.com. 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  9. ↑ "Military to Liberate Sambisa Forest Before May 29- Sambo Dasuki". Sahara Reporters. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
  10. ↑ "Chibok: Bring Back Other Girls and Boys". YAShuaib Blog. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  11. ↑ "Nigeria's Dasuki arrested over $2bn arms fraud". BBC. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  12. ↑ Yushau, Shuaib (2017-12-18). "Two Years of Unlawful Detention: A Memo to Sambo Dasuki". Vanguard. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  • Dasuki, Sambo; Ali, Yusuf; Odufowokan, Dare (June 30, 2012). "Unmasking Sambo Dasuki". The Nation newspaper. The Nation Newspapers and Publishing Co. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
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