An air of anxiety and relief is hanging on the national headquarters of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Abuja, ahead of the exit, next week, of its Director-General, Ambassador Ezekiel Oladeji.
Pointblanknews.com gathered that Oladeji’s seat is expected to become vacant on Monday, October 14, 2013, creating a leadership vacuum in one of the most strategic security agencies in Nigeria.
Oladeji’s tenure was dogged by a string of controversies, ranging from claims that he spent three and a half years beyond his tenure, nepotism, and persecution of perceived subordinates believed to be opposed to his alleged illegal tenure.
NIA sources claim that the outgoing DG ought to have retired on March 10, 2010, when he clocked the mandatory retirement age of 60, but managed to secure the backing of some powerful officials in The Presidency to cling on to power.
Such violations are fast becoming the norm.
For instance, the immediate past Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Mohammed Modibbo Mohammed overstayed his tenure at National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) by 18 months.
Notwithstanding, Modibbo was in August 2007 “redeployed” to UBEC, to displace the commission’s boss, Dr. Lami Amodu, who had spent only four months out of a five-year tenure.
Like Modibbo, Oladeji spent the remainder of his illegal stay at NIA reportedly fighting perceived enemies.
Last year, a deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador D.C.B. Nwanna dragged Oladeji, the NIA boss, to National Industrial Court challenging his purported retirement by the latter.
Nwanna had been redeployed from his UK posting, only to be barred by NIA security men from entering his office in Abuja or any NIA facility allegedly on Oladeji’s orders.
The judge handling Nwanna’s case, Justice Moren Esowe had last November reportedly wept in open court over allegations of bias brought against her by Oladeji.
The outgoing NIA boss had reportedly petitioned the President of Industrial Court, alleging that Justice Esowe had favoured Nwanna, simply because he (Nwanna) was of the same tribe with the judge.
On another front, a group of serving NIA officers recently petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan, pointing out how Oladeji allegedly ruined espirit de corps in the agency.
Aside Olajide’s continued illegal stay in office, the officers told President Jonathan that their boss took certain decisions which removed the “security cover” of NIA operatives in foreign missions.
“This singular act has more than anything else exposed all NIA operatives to even the local staff (who are assumed to be spies themselves) since they have access to the list of all our operatives all over the world and are likely to apply it against the legitimate interest of Nigeria and hurt the federal government of Nigeria in a most terrible way”, the officers alleged.
“It is estimated that in the last two (2) years alone, over six million US Dollars ($6m) of officers Operation funds has (sic) been withheld and possibly diverted by Oladeji. If you take a very conservative and minimal figure of let’s say $30,000 per officer per year multiplied by two (2) years, it is equal to six (6) million USD ($30,000x100x2yrs =$6m).
“Officers in this category are easily compromised by hostile elements, particularly that their identity is already known”, the petitioners added.
The petitioners also alleged nepotism in Oladeji’s leadership of the agency.
“An instance is the last promotion interview from GL 16 to GL 17. Out of fifty (50) officers who sat for the exams, only 14 passed the exams and out of the fourteen that passed 7 are his tribesmen.
“It is clear on record that three officers among his tribesmen who are confirmed to have failed were promoted. This has generated so much noise from very senior officers that the exercise was devoid of transparency,” the officers added.
Oladeji attended University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he obtained a bachelors degree in French and Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Law in 1975 and 1977 respectively. He also trained at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.
Created on June 5, 1986, NIA is the principal security agency tasked with overseeing foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence operations. Its pioneer DG was Albert Horsfall.
Its longest serving DG is Ambassador Uche Okeke, who served from 1999 to 2007.