DG of Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency resigns

The Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, has resigned.

Mr Abubakar who spent seven years in office, serving two administrations of President Bola Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari, announced his resignation on Saturday after meeting with the president in Abuja.

“After the briefing, I tendered my resignation and Mr President graciously approved and accepted the resignation,” Channels Television quoted him as telling State House reporters.

The intelligence chief, appointed in 2018, said he resigned due to “personal, family issues.”

“I discussed with Mr President, he understood very well and I promised to remain committed with issues under security situations in the country,” he said.

“There are quite a number of reasons one would do that. Some personal, family issues. But nothing very serious actually,” he said.

When asked about the president’s reaction to his decision, the former DG declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to disclose the details of his conversation with the president.

However, he said the president or the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) could issue a statement about it.

Mr Abubakar said he had during his seven years in office mentored young officers who he believes can do the job “excellently well.”

Who is Mr Abubakar?

Mr Abubakar, an indigene of Katsina State, was appointed as NIA DG in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. His tenure was further extended in December 2021.

In 1993, the 71-year-old retired career foreign service officer joined the security department of the Nigerian Foreign Service.

Also, he was appointed senior special assistant to the president on international relations and foreign affairs in 2015.

Mr Abubakar, a multilingual security chief, bagged his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French from the Bayero University in Kano.

Apart from French, he also speaks English and Arabic.