Confession: Garba Shehu Used ‘Rat Attack’ To Cover Up President Buhari’s Health Crisis

Garba Shehu, former Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has admitted that he concocted the infamous story of a rat infestation at the Presidential Villa to divert attention from Buhari’s health condition.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

This revelation was made in his newly released book, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience,” which was launched on Tuesday in Abuja.

Before Buhari returned to Nigeria on August 19, 2017, after nearly three months of medical treatment in the UK, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, had controversially alleged that the president had been replaced by a clone named “Jibrin from Sudan.” Buhari’s return only intensified public skepticism, especially after his aide, Bashir Ahmed, disclosed that he would resume work from home rather than the official office at the State House.

In Chapter 10 of the book, titled “Rats, Spin and All That,” Shehu explained that he devised the rodent narrative to deflect growing concerns about Buhari’s health and his fitness to govern.

He recalled overhearing a casual remark in the Chief of Staff’s office about cable damage, possibly caused by rats, due to the office’s prolonged disuse. When media inquiries intensified over why Buhari wasn’t working from his office, Shehu told reporters the office was undergoing repairs after rats had allegedly chewed through some wiring.

“The media frenzy grew,” Shehu wrote. “Even the BBC Hausa was asking what kind of rats existed in the Villa that could eat electrical cables. To throw them off, I referenced the mysterious rats from the 1980s that came with rice shipments from Southeast Asia—rats known for destroying anything in sight.”

He admitted the goal was to shift the national conversation away from Buhari’s health. “My intention was clear—to change the narrative and distract the public from the issue of the president’s medical condition,” Shehu added.

However, not everyone agreed with his tactic. He revealed that at a later meeting, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and then-Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, challenged his decision. “They disagreed with me, but I believed the spin had worked,” Shehu concluded.