Tinubu reportedly set to appoint ex-Abacha’s CSO as NSCDC boss, details emerge

A new report has it that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is considering appointing Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd) as Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The Guardian confirmed the development on Monday, October 16, and disclosed that the nomination of the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, was in line with Tinubu’s resolve to reposition the security architecture.

Al-Mustapha, the presidential candidate of Action Alliance (AA), had deplored the security situation in the country, particularly when former President Muhammadu Buhari held sway.

While delivering a keynote address at a roundtable on “Contemporary security challenges and their effects on 2023 general election”, he had warned that Nigeria was sitting on a keg of gunpowder owing to pervasive arms and hard drugs in circulation.

According to him, several victims of insurgency still litter over the country.

He had said: “There are leadership deficit in Nigeria at all levels. The next leader must have a shock absorber because this country is sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”

Meanwhile, Al-Mustapha, earlier denied ever stealing from Nigeria’s coffers while in office.

On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, Premium Times reported that the presidential hopeful disclosed that his enemies, whom he did not name, were responsible for his 15 years of travails because they were hellbent on looting the country’s resources.

"I don’t have money, I have never stolen N10. I challenged two governments; I challenged Abdulsalam Abubakar’s government, and I challenged (Olusegun) Obasanjo’s government. They searched," he said.