Fatima Buhari, daughter of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that her father once believed his office inside the Presidential Villa was being secretly monitored.
She made this disclosure in a newly unveiled book titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, written by Dr Charles Omole, Director-General of the Institute for Police and Security Policy Research. The book was presented in Abuja on Monday.
According to Fatima, the suspicion was so strong that it affected how she and her father communicated. On some occasions, Buhari allegedly avoided speaking altogether, choosing instead to pass messages through handwritten notes.
She recalled a particular meeting where her father signalled that they should not talk. Using gestures, he hinted that the room might be compromised, prompting them to write to each other quietly.
“He touched his cheek like he had a toothache and signalled that we shouldn’t talk. We wrote notes to each other, like spies in a film,” she recounted.
Fatima said her father believed listening devices had been planted in his office and warned her to always be cautious, stressing that he himself was constantly on guard.
The book presents the episode not as paranoia or drama, but as a reflection of the tense atmosphere surrounding power, privacy and trust at the highest level of government, where even personal conversations felt unsafe.
