NIA Directors Write Reps, Ask President To Drop Abubakar As DG

Some directors of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) have written to the House of Representatives Committee on Security and National Intelligence to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to drop Ahmed Rufai Abubakar as the new Director-General of the agency.

Writing for and on behalf of Concerned Directors of the NIA using pseudonyms such as E.O. Olarenwaju, Nelson Obiakor and Ahmed Sarki to conceal their identities, they described Abubakar as a misfit who is unqualified for the post of the NIA DG.

In the letter, the directors alleged that Abubakar failed to merit elevation to the rank of director and had retired from the NIA but has now been appointed to come and preside over people who were not only his seniors in rank, but who fit into the order of precedence.

They said since the inception of the Agency 32 years ago, nobody below the rank of a director had been appointed as head of the NIA, warning that Abubakar’s appointment would certainly set a dangerous precedence with equally dangerous implications.

They warned that should Abubakar who they claim is facing a legitimacy crisis go ahead with his plans to sack all the directors of the agency, the country should expect massive leaks of intelligence to hostile countries.

“Coupled with this fact, it is an aberration to thrust the leadership of Nigeria’s most sensitive security and intelligence organisation in the hands of people from the same ethnic stock and even town.

“In a country of over 200 million people, we feel it was not only highly contemptuous but dangerous. Already the nation is in a precarious security condition, and further penetration by hostile intelligence services could portend an even greater danger.

“It is very unlikely that we will be insulated from penetration if we are treated as renegades after putting in our best for the country,” they said.

The directors further noted that they were aware that the new NIA DG would pursue  personal vendetta by retiring those who were once his seniors as indicated in his first address, warning that by doing so, not only would the millions of dollars spent in training and retraining them be lost, some of them may decide to use the intelligence dossier of the country at their disposal for mischief.

They maintained that in the event that Abubakar finds it difficult to work with those of them in active service with better credentials, the only choice left to the authorities is to reverse to the status quo of allowing a serving director who understands the dynamics to succeed the dismissed former DG, Ayo Oke.

They added: “The incontrovertible fact that Rufai Abubakar’s had links wiith Chad, a country with likely rival interests with Nigeria, makes Rufai suspect and not fit to head the country’s elite intelligence agency.

“It is necessary for us to alert that the issue of likely doubtful loyalty, is a serious issue in intelligence corridors. Where a person’s nationality or that of his spouse becomes unclear, thorough vetting from the cradle becomes even more demanding.

“In this case, it is very dangerous that the vetting process has been compromised, which is an ominous danger to the nation’s security.”

They therefore asked the members of the House to passionately look into the issues raised and aggregate observations from other quarters where merit, fairness, justice, equity and competence have been sacrificed for selfish personal quests and do the needful.