For daring to ignore multiple calls from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while the heat of the contest for the senate Presidency lasted, Senator Abdulaziz Yari has been cooling his heels in the last 48 hours at custody of State Security Service.
The senator, in his uncommon ambition to lead the 10th National Assembly, resisted the president. However, there may be other issues the authorities are holding against him
One senior security officer and a State House aide told The Gazette in separate disclosures on Friday that the SSS arrested Mr Yari on Thursday morning and detained him for “thinking the president is a joke,” as one official put it. Both sources obtained The Gazette’s commitment to keeping them anonymous to bounce potential backlash from Mr Tinubu, who seemed to be shaping up to be a ruthless and vindictive leader after barely five weeks in office.
“He was asked why he ignored the president’s phone calls during the Senate leadership battle,” an official said. “He started arguing that he has every right to contest for the position, and decisions about his political career moves should not come from the president.”
“The president was trying to appeal to him to stand down his ambition to make sure any fate similar to how Bukola Saraki became Senate President in 2015 won’t be repeated,” the official said. “We all knew that Saraki’s emergence back then was the first error President Buhari made, and it crippled his first four years in office.”
Sources said Mr Yari received a call from Yusuf Bichi, the director-general, to report at the SSS’ headquarters for an urgent discussion. Upon arrival, Mr Yari was asked to wait for Mr Bichi, who purportedly stepped out. But the senator was delayed throughout the day by a phalanx of armed SSS agents, only to be told at about 10:00 p.m. Thursday that he won’t be going home, The Gazette learned. The senator’s planned visit with other Senate colleagues to former President Ibrahim Babangida on Friday was consequently aborted.
“His phones were confiscated, and he may be spending days, if not weeks, in custody,” the source added.
Mr Yari failed to garner enough votes for the position, but his Senate associates have alleged irregularities and may challenge the outcome in court. This could set him on a collision course with the president, with officials warning of dire consequences for Mr Yari’s political future should he proceed with the lawsuit.