Ahmed Abubakar, NIA DG, resigns

Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), has resigned.

Abubakar tendered his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu on Saturday.

Speaking to State House correspondents, Abubakar said his letter had been accepted by the president, but did not specify the reason for his resignation.

“It’s a routine thing from time to time to brief the president on situations, and today is no exception. After the briefing today, I tendered my resignation and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted the resignation,” he said.

“I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to serve Nigeria under his transformational leadership for a period, for an extended period of 15 months. It is very rare, by the way, to have the opportunity to serve two presidents. So, I thanked him very well, and I promised to remain professionally dedicated to our country and noble causes.

“I’m very, very grateful for the opportunity that the president gave me—actually to serve the country and his leadership—the encouragement I got, the confidence he had in me and my service, the opportunity to listen to me, to read briefing notes and advice, and so on. I think this is everything to me, and I have had the opportunity to mentor officers and staff for all the time I have been DG. This is the seventh year, by the way.”

When asked the reason for his resignation, Abubakar said: “There are quite a number of reasons one will do that, some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue. I discussed this with Mr President, and he understood very well.”

He attended Bayero University in Kano, where he bagged bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French. He also speaks English and Arabic.

Abubakar, a 71-year-old retired career foreign service officer from Katsina state, was appointed head of the agency by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2018. His tenure was extended in 2021.

Abubakar joined the security department of the Nigerian Foreign Service in 1993. In 2015, he was appointed senior special assistant to the president (SSAP) on international relations and foreign affairs.