PRESS RELEASE

After three years of struggling with diabetes, one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s bodyguards, Mr Lawal Mato, a Warrant Officer, on Tuesday passed away.

The President described the officer, who had been working with him for many years before he won the 2015 elections, as “very thorough, trustworthy and dependable soldier who carried out his duty with diligence and focus.’’

Mr Buhari prayed that Allah will ease his passage to paradise and grant his family, government and people of Jigawa State, the fortitude to bear the loss.

Mato was part of a team that former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua restored to Buhari as personal security and he had been off full duty for three years, treating diabetes.

A senior aide to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, who served as his Chief of Staff, died last Friday.

Garba Shehu,

Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)