The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has reportedly detained the Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, amid escalating political tensions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The two officers have reportedly been in detention at the Force Headquarters in Abuja since Thursday, August 20, 2026, according to multiple sources familiar with the development.
Sources told our correspondent that the detention followed the reported withdrawal of security personnel attached to the governor, in what political observers say could further deepen the growing power struggle within the Katsina APC.
The latest crisis is believed to have been triggered by the destruction of campaign billboards belonging to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Matters, Ibrahim Kabir Masari, by suspected miscreants in Katsina.
The destruction of the billboards was reportedly attributed by some political actors to the governor’s CSO and ADC, allegations that have since heightened tensions between the two political camps.
According to sources, the CSO and ADC were subsequently detained on the alleged directive of Masari, with the IGP said to have ordered or overseen their detention at the Force Headquarters.
The development has exposed an increasingly bitter rivalry between two blocs within the Katsina APC: the camp associated with Governor Radda and another linked to Masari and influential political actors in Abuja.
The disagreement has reportedly widened in recent weeks, raising concerns among party stakeholders that the internal power struggle could spill over into the state’s political and security structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sources close to the matter expressed concern that political disagreements should not be allowed to compromise the security arrangements of a sitting governor or create uncertainty around officers assigned to protect the state’s chief executive.
They also questioned the legal basis for the continued detention of the governor’s ADC and CSO and demanded clarification from the Nigeria Police Force on the circumstances surrounding their arrest and the reported withdrawal of security personnel from the governor.
The development is particularly sensitive because it involves security personnel attached directly to the governor and comes against the backdrop of an increasingly open political confrontation within the ruling party.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to obtain official comments from the Katsina State government, the Nigeria Police Force and other parties directly linked to the allegations were unsuccessful.
Katsina Mirror could not independently verify the circumstances surrounding the reported detention or the allegation linking the governor’s security officials to the destruction of Masari’s campaign billboards.
However, the reported detention has already intensified concerns that the political crisis in Katsina may be entering a more serious phase, with the dispute threatening to move beyond party politics into the state’s security architecture.
