Another crisis hits NIA: The Kyari, Kingibe connection; cabal denies Acting D-G access to fresh millions of dollar cash uncovered in safe house

The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is in the news again: for the wrong reasons.
Although the former Director-General, Ayodele Oke, was sacked last week by President Muhammadu Buhari, his successor, Ambassador Mohammed Dawuda, is already finding the job too difficult to handle, no thanks to the overbearing influence of Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
In fact, Kyari has brought in former External Affairs Minister and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, to tame Dawuda.
Dawuda has been given an unwritten order to handle ‘operational matters’ alone.
Dawuda is former Ambassador to Chad.
A presidency source said other roles of the Acting NIA D-G have been set aside for a new group personally put together by the Chief of Staff.
This group comprises of Kingibe, Ambassadors Zakari Ibrahim and Niyi Oladeji.
While Ibrahim was NIA D-G from 1993 to 1998, Oladeji was the D-G between 2009 and 2013.
The three Ambassadors were originally called in by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo Panel “to make expert input into the report of the investigation concerning the tenure of Ambassador Ayo Oke”, due to the discovery of huge sums of money stashed in “a safe house” in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The source said: “Now, the Ambassadors have been hijacked by the Chief of Staff. The result is that those who understand how national security works are seriously alarmed that unless something is done urgently to rein in the debilitating factionalisation on matters concerning the NIA, Nigeria’s elite intelligence arm, and the country’s equivalent of the American CIA, British M16 and Israeli Mossad, the agency may be handicapped by unnecessary government in-fighting to give its best service to Nigeria”.
He also disclosed that the latest attempt to sideline Dawuda was as a result of “another huge dollar cash discovered in one of the safe houses of NIA”.
He continued: “The amount is staggering. It was the latest discovery in one of the safe houses of NIA. This information is only known by a few and we are not even sure if President Muhammadu Buhari is aware. The plan is to prevent the Acting D-G from having access to the money”.
Another source said “security watchers” are also confused due to the involvement of Zakari Ibrahim in the new game plan because, although he hails from Katsina State, it is believed he is a loyalist of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“In fact, he is a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So, many Villa staff are actually suspicious of his presence there for they doubt where his loyalty lies. The fear is that due to his intelligence background and since he has the confidence of the Chief of Staff, he may easily manipulate President Buhari”.
Oladeji is also believed to be very close to former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.
The source said that many Aso Rock watchers are now afraid of the type of influence wielded by Kyari and this was seen in the way the former Acting D-G, Ambassador Arap Yadam, was kicked out to pave the way for Dawuda.
“Ambassador Yadam’s tenure actually ends on November 7, 2017 but the way he was kicked out runs against the National Security Act which stipulates that a three-month period of grace be given every departing head of NIA to allow for seamless handover of office and adequate briefing of a new D-G”.
Speaking further, he said Yedam’s greatest sin “is that he believes so much in the transparency policy of the Buhari presidency that he refused to promote the present Director of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure, to the position of a Director at the NIA. The protocol man was said to have failed his promotion examinations to the grade of a Director. The last examination was held last month and he still failed it.
“Also, Yedam refused to bow to pressure put on him to embark on a massive purchase of vehicles for Ambassadors. To pay him back, the Chief of Staff is using the pretext that Yedam’s official retirement date is November 7, 2017 to deny him a three-month grace that should have allowed for a seamless handover at the NIA”.
In the Villa, Kingibe is now seen as the unofficial Foreign Affairs Policy Chief for Buhari “due to Kyari’s influence”.