The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the former running mate to Peter Obi, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
According to Daily Trust, Baba-Ahmed, who is the founder of Baze University, according to a security source, was invited Friday evening for allegedly sustaining views perceived as inciting against the Nigerian State.
It was learnt that the secret police had been monitoring Baba-Ahmed’s recent public remarks on various media platforms, especially those bordering on his claims of a “constitutional crisis.”
“A few days ago, Baba-Ahmed was on national television, blaming the judiciary and the military for allowing the swearing-in of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashmir Shettima.
“He even went to the length of inciting the military that it was President Tinubu’s swearing-in that made it possible for them to look you in the face and call you ‘bloody fools,” the official, who didn’t want his name mentioned said.
The source explained that the secret police said his inflammatory comments carry undertones capable of heightening national tension particularly given the sensitivity of Nigeria’s current political climate.
“It is also disturbing considering how similar narratives have contributed to instability in countries like Guinea-Bissau and other states, noted the source.
“I believe the secret police is treating his comments with caution. It has nothing to do with politics, but the corporate existence of our nation could be threatened if such rhetoric is allowed to fester.
“The complacency by the judiciary and military in not stopping the inauguration of President Tinubu’s administration as he was quoted leaves much to be desired,” he noted.
According to him, such an invitation aligns with established protocols especially as his description of efforts to improve the security of the nation as a “joke” could agitate public sentiment, weaken trust in state institutions.
“These sessions are not punitive; they are preventive, focused on clarifying intent, contextualizing the remarks, and preventing the emergence of narratives that could unintentionally fuel unrest,” the source declared.
The secret police is yet to officially comment on the matter as at when filing this report.
Datti, who owned two universities in Abuja and Kano, served as a senator for Kaduna North in 2011 and was a member of the House of Representatives for Zaria from 2003 to 2007.