By The New Diplomat intelligence Desk
The Presidency is set to implement the recommendations of the Report of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s led Committee which investigated the role of suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency(NIA), Amb Ayo Oke in a mysterious hidden $43.4m at Apartment 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi as well as the alleged N200m contract scam allegedly involving Global Vision Limited, a firm reportedly linked to Suspended Secretary to Government of the Federation(SGF), Babachir David Lawal, going by information just reaching The New Diplomat Newspaper.
Top presidency sources told our correspondents that President Muhammadu Buhari had fully approved the contents of the Osinbajo led Committee which among other things, recommended the outright sack of both Mr. Oke and Mr. Lawal.
In a massive shake-up in the NIA, sources hinted, would be the outright firing of Oke’s two Deputy Directors General(DDGs). The two DDGs in questions are Mr. Arap Yadam from Plateau State(DDG-Administration) and Mr Emmanuel Okafor from Anambra State(DDG-Operations). Mr. Okafor was formerly in New York as Head of Peace-building Desk at the United Nations(UN) Mission until he was deployed to NIA Headquarters while Mr. Yadam was in Angola until he was promoted to the position of DDG(Operations), with an internal memo which allegedly originated from the Office of the then National Security Adviser(NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki- currently facing charges of corrupt diversion of public funds-technically naming DDG Yadam’s office(DDG-Administration) as higher in seniority than DDG(Operations), Okafor’s Office.
This development, which occurred during the Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was perceived in diplomatic circles then as an aberration but was quietly manage to douse tension. Interestingly, Yadam is due for retirement from the Service, following the completion of his service years.
Presidency sources confided in The New Diplomat that “that Amb. Oke would be fired and asked to go home over his alleged involvement in the $43.3m funds which could not be rationalized or explained in concrete terms by Amb. Oke as regards the exact operational mission the funds was meant for, is just a matter of time’’.
The New Diplomat investigations in the Abuja however reveal those in the intelligence community in agreement with Osinbajo’s committee report are of the view that “appointing any of the two Deputy Directors-General(DDGs) would amount to a gross violation of the NIA operational and administrative Laws and service rules because the rules setting up the Agency clearly states that should the DG of the NIA be sacked or relieved of his position in any circumstance, his two Deputies-DDGs- must automatically go with the DG. It is a standard rule and not a matter of presidential discretion. The Law and service rule was put there in the NIA Rules to ensure that the two DDGs-Deputy Director General ( Operations ) and Deputy Director General(Administration) do not individually or collectively work to undermine the DG. That is to ensure that they work collectively for the success of the DG so as to prevent a situation where the two DDGs can gang-up against a serving DG to ensure he or she fails and is accordingly relieved of his/her job.”
Highly placed Presidency officials also confided in The New Diplomat that “ the two DDGs would just have to go with Oke because not only are they also believed to be very culpable because the $43m funds in question involves both administrative and operational dimensions, the rules of the NIA service will have to apply here: the rules and the law say should the DG of NIA go in any circumstance, his two DDGs must go with him….There is no way the two DDGs can say they are not aware or culpable. Who posted the officers to that Osborne Apartment? Is that not an administrative issue? Then how was the funds moved there in the name of operations in the first instance? In any case, the rules of the service will be carefully studied and made to apply here in appointing a successor. The NIA is not like Customs or any other agency, where the DG is appointed from outside. It is from within the NIA service that Oke’s successor will come from certainly.”
It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) had swooped into the Osborne Towers which originally belonged to Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu and discovered $43m in a flat said to belong to the wife(Folashade) of the suspended DG of Mr. Oke. The DDG (Administration) is already due for retirement having served out his service years .
