The Director General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, has removed Adeboyega Fasasi as the Chief Security Officer to President Bola Tinubu.
Credible security sources who confirmed Fasasi’s removal at the weekend said he was replaced by Rasheed Atanda Lawal, a deputy director currently undergoing a fellowship course at the National Institute for Security Studies.
It was gathered that Tinubu approved Fasasi’s removal upon request of the Director General to send him for a “strategic course” — the usual premise for removing a top security official around the president.
According to sources, Lawal was due for promotion to the rank of director in July 2023, but his promotion was stood down by the former service management as he was not in the good books of the then Director General.
“He is among the Deputy Directors that should have been promoted to Director since July 2023, but whose vacancies for promotion were given to their juniors like Koko, Milad and Fasasi because of favouritism,” said a source familiar with the development.
It was gathered that Fasasi’s removal might not be unconnected with his alleged high-handedness and stepping on many influential toes around the president.
“Fasasi has stepped on so many toes. Even the president was not so pleased with the way he coordinates the office,” said an inside source.
Insiders said it has become the tradition of the service to change the CSO to the President when a new Director General of DSS is appointed.
“It has now become the tradition of the service for a new Director General to redeploy a new CSO that he is comfortable to work with.
“The position of the CSO is highly strategic. The Director General needs someone he actually trusts and comfortable with at that key position,” said the source.
In March 2019 the then President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the redeployment of his CSO, Bashir Abubakar and accepted Idris Ahmed as replacement.
The then Director General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, reportedly convinced the president that Bashir was due for a “strategic course” at a university in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hence a decision to replace him.