Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu has revealed how a sudden reversal of court instructions led to his unexpected detention in Kuje Prison, despite being initially released on bail.
Speaking during a recent interview with Channels TV, Shehu explained that after he was first charged, he was allowed to go home under bail conditions granted by the Department of State Services (DSS). “We went through the trial. First, I was charged to the Federal High Court, and I was asked to go home on the basis of the bail that DSS had given me already on my own home,” he said.
He stated just after leaving court, he received a call from the DSS. “They called me to say, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m already at the Federal Secretariat.’ They said, ‘Please, there’s something we forgot. Come,’” Shehu recalled. Believing it to be a minor issue, he returned to the DSS headquarters.
He further stated that upon his arrival, he was informed of a change in the judge’s directive. “And then they said the judge called to say she said you are to be detained in Kuje Prison, not in our headquarters,” he recounted.
The former presidential aide said the situation caught him off guard because he had expected to remain under DSS supervision, as previously agreed. “If I was going to the headquarters, they had already given me bail, so I was going to continue. So that bail was no longer… So that’s how one got into Kuje Prison,” Shehu stated.
