After a 5-hour grilling session, a sober Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode says if the situation presents itself again, he would not tweet the way he did that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, met with some army generals to plot a coup.
He said after he met operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS): “I spent about five hours. I was subjected to thorough grilling; they were very thorough and highly professional in their interrogation. And I was asked to go back on Wednesday for further interrogation.
“The place anybody wouldn’t want to go, I think is the DSS. If I were to do it a second time, I won’t tweet this same way….
:“Sometimes when in the war front because we are in a war presently on the political front. While experiencing such war there is the fog of war where we say either the right things or the wrong things. Nobody is infallible. But the truth is when it comes to the issue of national security, we have to be careful.”
But the former Minister and spokesman for All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said the operatives who interrogated him were highly professional and didn’t torture him in the process.
Recall that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, commended the Department of State Services (DSS) earlier on Monday for inviting Fani-Kayode, to shed light on allegations he made of a coup plot by Atiku and some Generals, ahead of the 2023 general polls.
Special Assistant, Public Communications to Atiku, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, called on the DSS not to leave any stone unturned in the course of investigation.
He stated, “We commend the DSS for the swift invitation sent out to Fani-Kayode. He must be made to explain his allegation of an attempted coup being planned by Atiku Abubakar who even during the military regime never attempted to topple the government despite having the resources.
“Fani-Kayode must also be made to reveal the identities of the so-called army generals who are plotting to overthrow the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Shaibu, who described Fani-Kayode’s attempt to withdraw his comments as an afterthought, said there was an urgent need for the DSS and Nigerian authorities to ensure that the military is not brought into partisan politics.
He added, “Nigerians suffered for nearly 30 non-consecutive years battling military dictatorship. The military has since 1999 pledged its loyalty to civilian authority and returned to the barracks. Unfortunately, Fani-Kayode and others in Tinbubu’s camp have continued to prod the military by making allegations of coups and interim government.
“Fani-Kayode cannot be acting alone since he is the spokesman for Tinubu. Fani-Kayode and his ilk have been prodding the military for the last one month, talking about how they plan to install an interim government.
“In reaction, President Buhari set up a transition committee that will midwife a smooth transition of another government on May 29. Despite this, the likes of Fani-Kayode have continued to prod the military, propagating theories of coups.”
Atiku asked the DSS to also ask Fani-Kayode to explain his ties to Yoruba nation agitators, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other separatist organisations threatening the unity of Nigeria.
He said, “Fani-Kayode has been seen in many videos prodding separatists agitators to tear the country apart. He has been instigating a tribal war in Nigeria for the last six years. This is a man that vilified northern Muslims, describing them as blood sucking demons in a bid to instigate genocide against northerners living in the south.
“This is a man who described President Muhammadu Buhari as a brain dead walking corpse. He later said an impostor had taken over as President all in a bid to incite protests and riots in the country.
“The DSS must thus leave no stone unturned in this investigation. It is obvious that Fani-Kayode is the one plotting the collapse of the 4th Republic.”
