Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has formally invited Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, for questioning regarding statements deemed potentially inflammatory.
Security sources confirmed the development on Friday, stating that the agency wishes to address remarks they believe risk heightening national tensions.The invitation stems from a petition submitted earlier by Festus Keyamo, who served as spokesman for the then President-elect Bola Tinubu.
In the complaint, Keyamo highlighted comments made by Datti Baba-Ahmed during a March 2023 television interview, where he suggested that inaugurating Tinubu as president would effectively mark the collapse of democratic governance in Nigeria. Keyamo described the statements as bordering on incitement and treasonable felony.
According to insiders within the security agency, operatives have been monitoring Datti Baba-Ahmed’s recent public engagements, particularly his outspoken criticism of the judiciary and the armed forces. The DSS maintains that the purpose of the invitation is to seek clarification on the intent behind these pronouncements, rather than to impose any immediate sanction.
This action aligns with an apparent wider effort by the DSS to curb expressions perceived as capable of inciting unrest or undermining public trust in government institutions under the current administration. As of now, the agency has not released an official statement detailing the summons or its broader implications.
