Kaduna: A social media influencer, Sani Buhari, popularly known as Waspapping, has denied claims linking the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to his arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Buhari, in a post on his verified X-handle, stated he was arrested on March 6 at NEPA Roundabout in Kaduna by DSS operatives. He described the operation as sudden and carried out without any immediate explanation from the officers involved. The influencer mentioned that he was moved to Abuja the following day on the directive of the DSS Director-General, which further heightened public interest and speculation surrounding the circumstances of his detention.
Buhari dismissed widespread claims that his arrest was ordered by the National Security Adviser, insisting that at no point during his detention did DSS officials indicate any involvement of the NSA’s office. He emphasized that there was no communication linking his arrest to the NSA, stressing that the opera
tion appeared to be entirely an internal process of the DSS. “Throughout my arrest and detention, I was never informed either directly or indirectly that the National Security Adviser or his office ordered or had any involvement in my arrest. At no point was the NSA mentioned in connection with the decision to detain me. In fact, from everything I could ascertain, the office of the NSA was not even aware of my situation at the time it happened,” he said.
Buhari, however, acknowledged that his release was facilitated after intervention by officials of the NSA’s office, following efforts by a friend identified as Jaybee who reached out to them. He noted that initial attempts to secure his release, including those by the Kaduna State Government, were unsuccessful until the NSA’s office became aware of the situation and intervened. According to him, officials of the NSA’s office subsequently contacted the DSS leadership, leading to a shift in the handling of his case and paving the way for his eventual release.
B
uhari described the DSS Director-General as professional, adding that the process became smoother once the intervention occurred, although he did not provide full details of how it was executed. He reiterated that the NSA’s office was unaware of his arrest at the time it occurred and only became involved after being contacted, drawing a clear distinction between the arrest and the intervention. The clarification comes amid public debate over the roles of security institutions, underscoring the importance of separating actions taken by agencies from subsequent interventions aimed at resolving such cases.