Dasuki was born on December 2, 1954, in Wusasa, Zaria, Kaduna State, to the family of Ibrahim Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto and is his first son. Dasuki attended Kaduna Capital School for his elementary education and later Government College, Kaduna, for his secondary education.
Military career
He entered the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1972 and was classmates with future officers such as Colonel Kayode Are, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, and Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye. Dasuki received his commission from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1974 and was posted to an Army Headquarters platoon.
Dasuki worked as Babangida's aide until 1988, when he left the post due to alleged disagreements with the then Chief of Army Staff, General Sani Abacha. He then went to the US where he received further military training. In 1993, following the rise to power of General Sani Abacha, Dasuki was retired from the army. He was accused of masterminding a coup allegedly led by Lawan Gwadabe. Abacha regime also deposed Dasuki's father as Sultan of Sokoto, replacing him with Muhammadu Maccido.
In June 2012, Dasuki was appointed as National Security Advisor by President Goodluck Jonathan. In early 2015, Dasuki informed the Independent National Electoral Commission "that operations against Boko Haram militants meant the military "will be unable to provide adequate security" for the upcoming 2015 Nigerian general election. The elections, scheduled for 15 February 2015, were postponed until March 28. Also in April 2015, he insisted that the Nigerian military would ensure that Sambisa Forest, the last fortress of Boko Haram, would be liberated before the May 29 inauguration of President Buhari's new government. Coincidentally, on the one-year anniversary of the abduction of Chibok school girls, Dasuki insisted that government was concerned about the welfare of every single Nigerian, not only the Chibok girls, as terrorists abducted other innocent Nigerian girls, boys, men, and women, and security agencies were making all efforts to rescue them. The military rescued more than 300 abductees a few weeks afterwards.
Detention and release
On December 1, 2015, Dasuki was arrested by Nigeria's State Security Service for allegedly stealing $2.1 billion and accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy 12 helicopters, four fighter jets, and ammunition meant for Nigeria's military campaign against Boko Haram Islamist militants. In November 2018, Dasuki was refused bail by the government despite being granted bail by four different high court judges. The State Security Service released Sambo Dasuki from detention on the 24 December 2019. His lawyer, Raji Ahmed, told Premium Times the former national security adviser was freed on Tuesday night. Dasuki's freedom comes hours after the SSS released Omoyele Sowore, an activist who was accused and subsequently arrested in August for planning to overthrow a democratically elected government.
