Directorate of Secret Service (DSS) has been trending since President Muhammadu Buhari announced Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi as the new Director-General of the Intelligence Agency on 13th September 2018, and so far, the Presidency has denied claims going around that appointment was based on religion.
The appointment of the new DG of DSS came after the former DG Lawal Daura was dismissed for allegedly authorizing a siege on the National Assembly complex a few weeks back, that attracted a lot of condemnation both within an outside Nigeria.
The alleged siege created a lot of tension and almost resulted into a fisticuffs as some National Assembly Lawmakers dared the masked and heavily armed DSS officials and some policemen who were laying the siege on the Assembly complex.
There were blame game as to who ordered the siege as all almost all the lawmakers were pointing accusing fingers at the executive. The Presidency sensing the tension and after some interrogation, Lawal Daura was sacked and replaced with Seiyefa who until his appointment as DG DSS was a Deputy Director at the DSS.
All this event happened while President Buhari was away in London, and all that the then Acting President Osinbajo did was said to have had the inputs of the President, especially the sacking of his fellow man from Katsina State.
President Muhammadu Buhari for reasons best known to him, yesterday appointed a new DG in Mr. Yusuf Bichi that has been seen by some politicians as the President being tribalistic and someone who based his appointment on religion, especially politicians from the opposition party of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
They claimed all the past DGs have all being northerners and Muslims. In reacting to this the Presidency has released a list of past DGs. See them:
DGs of DSS from 1990 till date
1990 – 1992: Chief Albert Horsefall
1992 – 1998: Chief Peter Nwaoduah
1998 – 2007: Chief Kayode Are
2007 – 2010: Afakriya Gadzama
2010 – 2015: Ita Ekpeyong
2015 – 2018: Mallam Lawal Daura
2018 – date: Yusuf Magaji Bichi