Nigeria's National Security Adviser Sacked By Buhari Charged With Unlawful Firearms Possession

Nigeria’s sacked national security adviser, Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, was charged Monday with unlawful possession of firearms. Nigeria’s Department of State Security uncovered several weapons during simultaneous searches last month on three of Dasuki’s properties in northern Sokoto state and the capital Abuja, according to AFP news agency.

Domestic intelligence agents on July 16 raided the properties belonging to Dasuki based on “credible intelligence which linked him to acts capable of undermining national security,” the Department of State Security said in a statement Monday. Officials recovered seven high-caliber rifles, numerous magazines and military-related gear during the raids, which lasted more than 10 hours. There were also 12 new high-performance vehicles, five of which were bullet-proof, on the premises, for which Dasuki was unable to provide evidence of ownership, AFP reported.

The former national security adviser, who lost his job along with the military top brass after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari took office, has been “charged to court based on evidence so far obtained but which relates to possession of firearms without license,” the Department of State Security said in the statement Monday, which was also obtained by Nigerian newspaper Premium Times.

Dasuki, 60, was appointed national security adviser in June 2012 by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigeria’s new leader, Buhari, replaced Dasuki with retired Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno last month. Dasuki, who served as an army major in 1985, was apparently one of the soldiers who arrested Buhari after he was overthrown as Nigeria’s military ruler later that year, according to AFP.

Buhari has made a point to purge senior officials inherited from Jonathan’s government, which was accused of not taking swift action against the Boko Haram insurgency. Earlier this month, the ex-national security adviser spoke in defense of Jonathan’s administration and its fight against the Islamist militant group.