Former Secret Security Service Chief, Shinkafi, is Dead

Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto

Former Director General of the National Security Organisation in the second republic, the predecessor of the Directorate of Security Service, DSS, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, is dead.

The deceased,who had the title of Marafan Sokoto, died at the age of 79.

Family sources confirmed to THISDAY that he died in a London hospital on Wednesday evening after a protracted illness.

The deceased would be flown back to Nigeria and be buried on Friday after funeral prayers at the Sultan Bello mosque, Sokoto.

He was a presidential aspirant during the third republic on the platform of the defunct National Republican convention in 1992.

Meanwhile, former governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, has described Shinkafi’s death as a monumental loss not only to the people of Zamfara state but also to Nigeria as a whole.

A statement signed by the media aide to the former governor, Malam Yusuf Dingyadi, described Shinkafi as a dilligent intelligence officer who worked to uplift the standard of security services in the country

The statement noted that Shinkafi was among frontline politicians that strived for the survival of democracy during the millitary era.

“Shinkafi fought well for the survival of democracy during millitary era and his leadership qualities would be greatly missed,”the statement concluded.