A retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Adebayo Adeoye, has called for the immediate restoration of the Department of State Services personnel to the Aso Villa to provide close bodyguard protection for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Adeoye told The Punch that the use of soldiers as Presidential guards could expose Buhari to danger.
Buhari had on Friday recounted his experience at the Eid praying ground where he was almost mobbed by youths.
He said that a man with a knife could have attacked him, adding that only God protects.
Reacting, Adeoye stated that the situation showed that the soldiers guarding him did not have the requisite experience and skills to protect Buhari.
He insisted that soldiers have poor crowd control skills, adding that the DSS operatives would have better protected him because they were adequately trained.
He said, “DSS operatives should be returned to the Villa quickly. They should not endanger the life of the president.
“Anyone advising the president to use soldiers for his protection didn’t mean well. The president’s life was in danger at the Eid praying ground, he was almost mobbed by the crowd and I hope such a thing would not repeat itself.
“The DSS should be allowed to protect the President, military are not trained for crowd control or close bodyguard protection.”
But a former FCT Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Alobi disagreed with Adeoye’s position on DSS crowd control skill.
He, however, admitted that soldiers should not give the president close-body protection.
According to him, soldiers in mufti could be used as part of the outer layer of presidential security, while the DSS should rather be used for intelligence-gathering.
He said DSS operatives were not so trained in crowd control as policemen.
Alobi said, “The President’s security is a collective duty, police should be used for crowd control, DSS should be used for intelligence-gathering and soldiers in mufti could be used for peripheral security because there are different levels of security for the President.
“DSS personnel are not trained for crowd control, only the police can do that. Military intelligence officers in mufti could be used (to protect the President), but soldiers in uniform should not be used, it gives a wrong impression.
“This is not a military government, so soldiers should not be used. We should not militarise our democracy”.
Comments