President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mohammed Mohammed as the new Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Adeola Ajayi as the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS). This announcement was made on Monday by the presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale.
The appointments follow the recent resignations of the former NIA chief, Ahmed Rufai, and the outgoing DSS head, Yusuf Bichi. Both Rufai and Bichi had been retained by President Tinubu in June 2023 when he reshuffled the leadership of Nigeria’s security agencies, firing all service chiefs and heads of security bodies except for them.
Mohammed Mohammed, the newly appointed head of the NIA, boasts an impressive career in the foreign service, having joined the agency in 1995. Over the years, he has served in various capacities, eventually rising to the rank of Director. Notably, Mohammed led the Nigerian mission to Libya and has served in countries including North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and at the State House in Abuja. A graduate of Bayero University, Kano, Mohammed’s experience spans decades of diplomatic and intelligence work.
Adeola Ajayi, the newly appointed Director-General of the DSS, has similarly had a distinguished career within the secret police. He rose through the ranks to become an Assistant Director-General before his current appointment. Ajayi has held key positions as State Director in several states, including Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi, showcasing his extensive experience in domestic security operations.
In his statement, Ngelale conveyed President Tinubu’s expectations that the new security chiefs will work diligently to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results. Tinubu charged them to leverage their extensive experience to tackle the security challenges facing the country, emphasizing the importance of enhanced collaboration with sister agencies and aligning closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The President also extended his gratitude to the outgoing Directors-General for their dedicated service to the nation, wishing them success in their future endeavors.
