Date Published: 10/14/09

Ribadu, El Rufai Passport: Yar'Adua sacks NIA boss to save face!

The director general of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Emmanuel Enarune Imohe, has been fired from his job by Umaru Yar'Adua over a directive issued by his office to the permanent secretary of foreign affairs, Joe Keshi, ordering the international passports of two former officials of the Obasanjo regime - Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El Rufai, not to be renewed.

Saharareporters is also in possession of a letter written by Ambassador Joe Keshi to the Director-General of the NIA after he had obeyed the instruction, protesting that it could backfire on the government.  In it, he said the decision might portray the government poorly before the international community "as a government that is too sensitive to criticism," and suggested that the best response to El Rufai's "menace" was to have ignored him.

Saharareporters last Saturday published the controversial memo from the NIA. Our sources said Yar'adua directed Mr. Imohe to quit this morning after claiming that he was unaware of the directive to deny Ribadu and El Rufai consular services in Nigerian missions abroad.

Our sources said when the news of El Rufai's denial of passport renewal first hit the presidency, all the officials were summoned to find out who might have been responsible for the action. They all denied involvement, claiming that Ribadu and El Rufai were merely out to embarrass the federal government abroad, since the seven days required for El Rufai's passport to be renewed had not elapsed.

But Saharareporters' publication of the memo from the NIA as well as the cable sent to Nigerian consular missions by Ambassador Joe Keshi broke the matter open,.  It confirmed to Nigerians that an illegal directive had indeed been issued from the top abrogating the rights of Ribadu and El-Rufai,and nobody could deny the authenticity of the documents.

Yar'Adua, "embarrassed" by the public outcry over the draconian directive, has also reversed Joe Keshi's directive to foreign missions not to issue or renew the international passports of the duo.

Analysts say Mr. Imohe may simply have been expended to help Yar'Adua save face, as it is most unlikely he would have caused such a directive to be given in the name of the highest level, without authorization. One of the ambassadors who did not want to be named told Saharareporters that when he tried confirming the source of the directive with Aso Rock, Yar'Adua told him that the duo of Ribadu and El Rufai could go and get their passports from Obama.

There has been loud outcry from Nigerians at home and abroad. The president of the West African Bar Association (WABA), Femi Falana, issued an ultimatum to the Nigerian authorities to reverse the order or face embarrassing lawsuits.  In Washington DC, Prof. Bolaji Aluko commenced a petition drive that has so far garnered a sizable number of angry Nigerians abroad as signatories.