Aisha Buhari Relocates To Dubai, Cites Insecurity In Aso Villa

Nigeria's First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has been in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since September after the wedding of her daughter, Hanan, and has therefore not been involved in any government activity, SaharaReporters has gathered.

SaharaReporters gathered that the First Lady is not in a hurry to return, despite spending over three months, as she reportedly stated that the Aso Rock Villa was not secure for her family.

Nigeria's First Lady, Aisha Buhari.

This concern was triggered by a shooting incident which occurred in June and caused some panic among occupants of the Aso Villa.

SaharaReporters had reported that there was a crisis in Aso Villa after security details of the President's wife removed Buhari's Personal Assistant, Sabiu 'Tunde' Yusuf, from the place after he refused to embark on a 14-day isolation period upon returning from a trip to Lagos.

Shortly afterwards, the First Lady's ADC, Usman Shugaba, in an attempt to apprehend Yusuf, reportedly fired gunshots but the President's aide escaped to the residence of Mamman Daura where he spent the night.

Yusuf soon ordered the arrest of Aisha's ADC and other security details in connivance with Buhari's chief security officer. Buhari had ordered a probe into the alleged security breach inside the Presidential Villa. 

It will be recalled that on September 4, Aisha Buhari held a flamboyant wedding for President Muhammadu Buhari's daughter, Hanan, and Mohammed Turad.

Apart from the opulence on display, event planners for the wedding were flown in from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to add colour and spice to the ceremony.

Earlier in August, the First Lady had also flown to Dubai in a private jet owned by billionaire Mohammed Indimi under the guise of a medical emergency to shop for luxury items ahead of the wedding.

Most of the items, including souvenirs used for the wedding occasion, were brought in from the Arabian country.

A top source told SaharaReporters on Tuesday that the First Lady has now relocated quietly to the UAE for over three months. No one knows when she would return to the country.

The Presidency source said, "Aisha Buhari has relocated quietly to Dubai. She has been going to the UAE even before the daughter's wedding.

"Before the wedding, she also stayed there for months during lockdown, shopping and relaxing. But since the end of the wedding, she has been away owing to security concerns in the villa."

Some Nigerians have noticed her disappearance from the public space for the past three months. Checks on her Twitter page shows she last tweeted in October. 

SaharaReporters gathered that occasionally, she issued statements announcing the distribution of palliatives but has never been seen at any official functions.

The September wedding, which had security personnel prohibiting guests from taking photographs, saw the event planners and other vendors flown in from Dubai pocketing huge amounts in United States dollars for their services.