A newly launched biography of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari has exposed a dramatic attempt by influential aides to manipulate the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries by forging presidential directives to install then-Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
The revelations come From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole and unveiled on December 15, 2025, at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. The high-profile event was attended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the book, on the eve of the APC primaries, aides close to Buhari allegedly issued counterfeit orders to top security chiefs – including the Inspector-General of Police (Usman Alkali Baba), the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). The forged directives instructed the deployment of security forces to ensure Lawan’s emergence as the consensus candidate.
Former IGP Alkali Baba reportedly rejected the orders outright, consulted his counterparts, and directly verified with Buhari. The late president denied issuing any such instructions, stating he had no preferred candidate and emphasizing that Nigerians should freely choose their leader. Buhari reportedly laughed upon hearing that celebrations had erupted in Lawan’s neighborhood over the supposed endorsement.
“He made it clear: he had not anointed anyone. Nigerians should choose, and the security agencies must not interfere,” the book quotes sources close to the events.
The biography portrays this incident as evidence of Buhari’s principled restraint, resisting the abuse of state institutions for political gain. It also details other internal power struggles, including the 2018 sacking of DSS boss Lawal Daura and a family dispute in the Presidential Villa involving gunfire.
