The Presidency on Tuesday announced the death of one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s bodyguards, Warrant Officer Lawal Mato.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, confirmed the incident in a statement in Abuja

According to him, Mato passed away after a three-year battle with diabetes.

Warrant Officer Lawal Mato

Shehu quoted the President as describing the officer, who had been working with him for many years before he won the 2015 elections, as “a very thorough, trustworthy and dependable soldier, who carried out his duty with diligence and focus’’.

“Mato was part of a team that former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua restored to President Buhari as personal security and has been off full duty for three years, treating diabetes”.

“President Buhari prayed that Allah would ease his passage to paradise and grant his family, government and people of Jigawa, the fortitude to bear the loss”.