Former President Muhammadu Buhari has denied reports that he fled to exile due to insecurity in his home state, Katsina.
The denial comes on the heels of a newspaper report that the immediate past President of Nigeria has moved abroad because he felt unsafe in Daura, his hometown.
Katsina state is one of the epicenters of banditry in the country, and security agencies are still trying to contain the criminals who are on a rampage in the northwest part of the country.
The former president had after his tenure ended on May 29, left the country for the United Kingdom, UK, to seek medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
Two weeks ago, his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu paid him a visit in London, raising more fears about the health condition of the former president.
He has not been seen in public since then, leading to suggestions that the security situation in the state has kept him away from his people for close to two months.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday to the report that the former president has fled to exile, Garba Shehu, a spokesman for the former leader said the report was inaccurate and should be discarded.
According to him, the former president has since returned from his trip to the UK and is now back in Daura to the loving arms of his family and close relations, Shehu urged the media not to mislead the public.
The statement said, “For misleading the otherwise credible newspaper to falsely report on their front page that former President Muhammadu Buhari has ‘fled’ and on ‘exile’, when he is currently at home with family in Daura, Katsina State, BusinessDay newspaper should sack their reporter who didn’t do the job of checking his facts.
“BusinessDay should think 10 times before running any information from the particular reporter and verify it before believing him. Every platform has tools to verify any information, and we don’t expect anything less from BusinessDay.
“If they had browsed through different sources, they will have seen reports of the former President having returned home and enjoying the company of his family. A single fake news in a newspaper has the capability to destroy a reputation built on years of hard work.”
Recall that Buhari, a few days before his exit from power, said he will return to his village for his retirement, adding however that he was prepared to move to the Niger Republic, where many of his relations are believed to be residing, if he was not welcome in Katsina.
