Another close aide of Buhari dies — after three-year battle with diabetes

President Muhammadu has lost another close aide — the second in four days.

Lawal Mato, a warrant officer and one of the presidential bodyguards, died on Tuesday after a three-year battle with diabetes.

On Friday, Abba Kyari, the chief of staff, died from complications of COVID-19 which he was thought to have contracted while on national duty.

Mato was part of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s personal security team and was restored by Buhari in 2015.

He had worked closely with Buhari after Yar’Adua’s death in 2010.

In a statement by the president’s media office, Buhari described the officer as “very thorough, trustworthy and dependable soldier who carried out his duty with diligence and focus”.

He was from Jigawa state.