The Presidency on Monday night announced that it has a lead on one of the suspected burglars who attempted to burgle the private residences of the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari and his admin officer, Maikano Abdullahi in Aso Rock.
The development was revealed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Shehu disclosed that police authorities have begun a manhunt for a suspect caught on Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) attempting to break into the apartment of Abdullahi in the Aso Villa on Thursday.
The presidential media aide had earlier tweeted via his Twitter account that the attempt ‘was unsuccessful.’
“The Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has confirmed that there ‘was a foolish attempt’ to burgle his residence at 3:00am this morning but it turned out to be unsuccessful.
“Professor Gambari, whose house is on a street next to the Villa has assured that there is nothing to worry about from the incident,” he said.
However, less than 20 minutes after his announcement, Shehu updated his tweets, saying the police had launched a manhunt after a CCTV captured the image of a suspect.
“The police, in a related development, is searching for a suspected burglar wh
o, as captured by CCTV, unsuccessfully attempted to break into the house of Maikano Abdullahi on Thursday, last week.
“Maikano lives on the same street with the Chief of Staff, close to the Villa,” he tweeted.
Shehu also vehemently maintained that the burglars did not gain entry into the residences.
Peoples Gazette, however, has a contrary report.
The publication alleged that the May 9 burglary had forced Gambari and the Aso Villa administrative officer, Abubakar Maikano, to abandon their residences.
Quoting an unnamed aide in the presidency, it alleged that the residences were indeed looted.
“Their houses were robbed and the robbers packed money and other valuable assets from both houses.”
“The robbers took away as much as possible from both places,” a security officer that confirmed the incident said. “What is more unfortunate is that no one has been arrested,” it said.
The publication stated that Gambari was given an official residence at the Defence House, but has not been living there, preferring instead to live inside Aso Rock and be close to the president.
When contacted, Peoples Gazette reported that Gambari did not immediately return a request seeking comments.
