Contrary to the claim of the director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, that he resigned from office for family reasons, there are indications that he may have been forced to go.
In a seemingly rare act of personal conviction, Abubakar told the press on Saturday night that he decided to resign due to “some personal issues, but nothing serious.”
Security sources, however, told our correspondent that following the former DG’s visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu he was asked to resign due to “severe intelligence lapses” during the recent #EndBadGovernance protests across the country.
“It was not just about the hunger protests,” one source said, “it was also about how the protests evolved and escalated, with Russian flags flying in some states and protesters openly calling for military take-over. The thing looked so well-coordinated it is difficult to understand how the Intel agency missed it.”
Another source said even though Abubakar had done his job the best he could in the last six years, he may have fallen out of favour with the national security adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, whose office supervises the agency.
“In light of the serious security challenges that the country faces, inter-agency cooperation is key, and Ribadu needs to have a firm grip,” the source said. “Abubakar was asked to resign on Saturday night. The story about family issues was an afterthought.”
The source added that Abubakar had planned to travel on Saturday night and had gone to inform President Tinubu when he advised to resign immediately.
As of press time, it was not clear if Abubakar or the powerbroker and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babagana Kingibe, who was influential in his appointment in 2018, saw the resignation coming.
Abubakar, whose tenure as the DG of NIA was extended by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, told the press at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Saturday night that he was bowing to family pressure to leave.
“I tendered my resignation, and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted it,” Abubakar said.
Our correspondent made several efforts on Sunday to contact the former NIA DG, but he couldn’t be reached.
“You’re not allowed to call this number” was the response from the mobile operator when his line was dialled.
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