A newly published biography of former President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled startling details about the intense power plays within the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 presidential primaries. The book claims that individuals close to Buhari attempted to fraudulently impose Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the party's consensus candidate.
The Alleged Plot to Impose Ahmad Lawan
The biography, titled 'From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari' and authored by Dr. Charles Omole, was presented at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Monday, December 15, 2025. It details how, on the eve of the APC presidential primaries, powerful aides allegedly tried to exploit the former president's authority.
According to the book, these individuals approached the nation's top security chiefs—the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). They claimed to be acting on direct orders from President Buhari to ensure that Ahmad Lawan emerged as the party's consensus candidate.
The narrative states that the then Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba, reportedly rejected the directive. He insisted that such a significant order needed to be clarified directly with President Buhari himself. When the security chiefs met with Buhari, he categorically denied issuing any such instruction.
The former president was said to have laughed upon hearing that celebrations had already begun in Lawan's neighbourhood, based on the false claim of his backing. Buhari made it clear that he had not endorsed any aspirant and stressed that the party primaries must proceed without any interference from security agencies.
Aisha Buhari's Role and Villa Intrigues
The biography also revisits other significant crises within the Presidential Villa during Buhari's tenure. A major revelation concerns the controversial removal of former DSS Director-General, Lawal Daura, in 2018.
The book discloses that former First Lady Aisha Buhari played a significant, previously unreported role in the events leading to Daura's dismissal. It states that President Buhari, upon his return, deliberately chose not to reverse the decision made by then-Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. Buhari believed that overturning the action would undermine institutional authority, despite facing pressure from political allies.
In another explosive revelation, the biography details a family dispute that escalated to gunshots being fired inside the secure precincts of the Presidential Villa. The incident allegedly involved a policeman attached to the First Lady's office. Following an investigation ordered by Buhari's Chief Security Officer, deeper family involvement was uncovered.
President Buhari is said to have sanctioned all those involved, including ordering a relative to leave the Villa. He insisted that family ties would not excuse misconduct or breaches of security protocol.
Separating the Man from the Myths
Dr. Omole writes that these episodes portray Buhari as a leader whose principled restraint was often misinterpreted as weakness. The book suggests that several political actors made decisions and claims in his name without his knowledge or consent.
The biography aims to separate Buhari's personal principles from the myths and manipulations that surrounded his presidency, offering an insider account of loyalty, betrayal, and intense power struggles at the highest level of Nigerian government. It provides context for many events that were publicly misunderstood at the time.
These revelations come alongside other disclosures from the biography, including Aisha Buhari's claim that her husband once believed gossip within Aso Rock that she was planning to kill him. The former first lady also used the book to dispel rumours that President Buhari's prolonged medical leave in 2017 was due to poisoning, clarifying it was instead for treatment of an undisclosed illness.
