Reacting from New York last night, Mrs. Buhari denied instigating the arrest and detention of Baban-Inna over allegations of fraud.
Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, is reportedly telling operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) his involvement in a N2.5 billion scam.
The SSS confirmed that the ADC, Sani Baban-Inna, a chief superintendent of police, is in its custody and undergoing interrogation.
READ ALSO: EFCC raids ex-SSS DG Ita Ekpeyong’s Abuja home
He is reportedly being held on the orders of Mrs. Buhari for dropping her name and defrauding unsuspecting officials and associates of the huge sum of money.
She was said to have petitioned the police alleging her ADC defrauded her of the said whopping sum.
Following the petition, the Police, last Friday, arrested Mr. Baban-Inna and carried out a search of his home in the Garki District of Abuja. However, the raid as well as the investigations on his bank accounts yielded no result as money to the tune in question was not found.
Not satisfied, Mrs. Buhari was said to have asked the SSS to take over the investigation.
Spokesperson of the service, Peter Afunanya, confirmed that the embattled ADC was in custody at the headquarters of the SSS in Abuja.
“He was handed over by the police and investigation is ongoing,” he said.
But spokesperson of the police, Jimoh Moshood, denied knowledge of the case, saying “I am not aware.”
Hassana, wife of Baban-Inna also confirmed her husband’s arrest.
However, the police, it was gathered, concluded that Mrs. Buhari must have been wrongly informed as there was nothing to show or prove that such huge sums of money was in the custody of Mr Baban-Inna.
An associate of Mr. Baban-Inna said the police contacted those named as donors of the controversial funds but they all denied making the donations attributed to them.
“For instance, one of those named was the IG of Police himself. But the IG said he has never passed any money through Baban-Inna.”
When the first lady was informed of the outcome of police investigation, she was said to flared up as she accused the police of colluding “to protect one of their own”.
She then reportedly asked the State Security Service (SSS) to take over the case and get her money back.
Reacting from New York last night, Mrs. Buhari denied instigating the arrest and detention of Baban-Inna over allegations of fraud.
READ ALSO: I’ve no hand in my ADC’s arrest, says Aisha Buhari
In a statement by the Director of Information to Wife of the President, Suleiman Haruna, Mrs. Buhari said her ADC has been with her since 2016 and expressed dismay that he had used the opportunity to defraud unsuspecting associates and officials as initial investigations have shown.
She reiterated that she has never sent any of her staff to collect any favour on her behalf or on behalf of her children and will never do so.
She, therefore, advised those who have been allegedly defrauded by Baban-Inna to get across to him to retrieve whatever he took from them.
She added that Baban-Inna was arrested by his employers to investigate the allegations leveled against him, as it is within their jurisdiction.
Mrs. Buhari advised 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. 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.
“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.”
