Umaru Shinkafi passes on at 79

Elder-statesman, businessman and retired policeman, Umaru Shinkafi, has died at the age of 79.

A trained lawyer, he was a Federal Commissioner for Internal Affairs, and would be remembered for his pioneering role in the creation of the National Security Organisation, NSO, the secretive security arm of the Nigerian security apparatus which he headed from 1999 till 1983.

He was also a Presidential aspirant in the 3rd Republic.

Shinkafi passed on in company of his family, at a hospital in UK on Wednesday afternoon, after a prolonged illness.

Mr. Shinkafi, who held the traditional title of Marafan Sokoto, was a native of Zamfara State.

According to a source, his body will arrive Sokoto on Thursday, for burial.

As news of his passing filtered into the country, President Muhammadu Buhari commiserated with the Government and people of Sokoto State.

In a statement by released by his Spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari described the late Shinkafi as an expert whose contributions to the development of the security architecture of Nigeria would remain indelible, adding that others carried on where he left off.

Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi is survived by three wives, and five children. One of his daughters, Zainab, is married to the Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; another daughter, Hadiza, is the wife of the Zamfara State Governor, AbdulAzeez Yari.

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