Nuhu Ribadu

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Nuhu Ribadu
National Security Adviser of Nigeria Nuhu Ribadu at the State Department in Washington, D.C. on January 17, 2024 (cropped).jpg
National Security Adviser
Assumed office
26 June 2023
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • police officer

Nuhu Ribadu mni (born 21 November 1960) is a Nigerian politician and retired police officer who since 26 June 2023 is serving as the National Security Adviser; after shortly serving as Special Adviser on Security to President Bola Tinubu. [1]

Contents

Ribadu ran unsuccessfully for office of the President of Nigeria in 2011 as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress. He ran for governor of Adamawa State in 2015 as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party; before joining the All Progressives Congress to run in 2019 and lost his bid in 2023 to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed. [2]

He was the Chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force from 2012 to 2014 [3] and the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 2003 to 2007, the government commission tasked with countering corruption and fraud. [4]

Early life

Ribadu was born on 21 November 1960 in Yola. His father, Ahmadu Ribadu, was a First Republic Member of Parliament, and Ambassador to Niger, during the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari. [5] [6] [7] He attended Mustapha Primary School from 1966 to 1973 in Adamawa and Yelwa Government Secondary School, Yola from 1973 to 1978; College of Preliminary Studies, Yola from 1978 to 1980.

Ribadu studied law at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State from 1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following a year at the Nigerian Law School, he was called to Bar in 1984. He also earned a Master of Laws degree from the same university. [8]

Police career

Ribadu joined the Nigerian Police Force shortly after graduation and held the positions of Assistant Superintendent of Police, Nigeria Police Force, January 1, 1986; Divisional Crime Officer for Ajegunle, Mushin, Apapa from 1990 to 1997; Force CID. AIagbon Close, Ugos; dep. Superintendent of Police, 1992; Superintendent of Police, 1995; Chief Superintendent of Police, 1998; asst comm. of Police, 2002; Head, Ugal and Prosecution Department, NPF.

Anti-corruption and the EFCC

The Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed him to the chairmanship of the EFCC in 2003 and reappointed him in 2007, as well as promoting him to the position of Assistant Inspector General of Police. [9] The promotion on 9 April 2007, three weeks before newly elected president Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn in, was later challenged on the basis that it was "illegal, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal effect." [10] In December 2007, Mike Okiro, Inspector-General of Police, stated that Ribadu would be removed as EFCC chairman for a one-year training course. [11]

On 20 October 2006, Nuhu Ribadu told the BBC that over 380 billion dollars had been stolen or wasted by Nigerian governments since independence in 1960. [12] Under Ribadu's administration, the EFCC charged prominent bankers, former State governors, ministers, Senators, high-ranking political party members, commissioners of Police, and advance fee fraud ("419") gang operators. [13] The EFCC issued thousands of indictments and achieved about 270 convictions. One notable case was that of his boss, the then Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police Force, Tafa Balogun, who was convicted, jailed and made to return £150 million under a plea bargain. [14]

During the course of his duty Ribadu was offered bribes to pervert the course of justice, amongst these was a State governor who offered Ribadu $15 million and a house abroad. [15] Interviewed from Washington D.C. on the BBC's Hardtalk programme, Ribadu said that he took the money and used the bribe as evidence to prosecute the state governor. [16] This claim has however been refuted by the ex-governor who noted that the fact that Ribadu put the money in the CBN is not a proof that he gave the money. [17] Ribadu escaped two assassination attempts in Nigeria before he left the country for the United Kingdom in early 2009. [18]

In December 2007, Inspector-General of Police Mike Okiro ordered that Ribadu be temporarily removed from the position of EFCC chairman and ordered him to attend the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Jos, Plateau State for a mandatory one-year course. [11] The decision was criticised by, among others, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, House of Representatives members, and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) national chairman Edwin Ume-Ezeoke as politically motivated and/or likely to set back the fight against corruption. [19]

On 22 December 2008, as widely predicted, he was dismissed from the Nigerian Police force by the Nigerian Police Service Commission (PSC). He left Nigeria and in April assumed a fellowship at the Center for Global Development. [20]

Political career

He lived in exile until 2010 when he returned to Nigeria and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). On Friday, 14 January 2011, Nuhu Ribadu was adopted as the presidential candidate of the ACN.

In August 2014, he defected to the ruling party PDP with the intention to run for the Governorship of Adamawa State, Nigeria. [21] He later joined the ruling APC and contested for governorship of Adamawa in 2019 and 2023, [22] he became a close confidant of Bola Tinubu during the presidential campaign.

National Security Adviser

Ribadu was appointed by President Bola Tinubu as National Security Adviser on 19 June 2023. [23] In March 2024, Ribadu oversaw the arrest and detention of two employees of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, including a former United States Internal Revenue Service agent, for Binance's alleged role in market manipulation that led to a drop in value of Nigerian currency. [24]

Related Research Articles

Yola, meaning 'Great Plain' or 'Vast Plain Land', is a large city, capital city and administrative centre of Adamawa State, Nigeria. It is located on the Benue River, and it has a population of over 336,648 (2010). Yola is split into two parts. The old town of Yola where the Lamido resides is the traditional city and the new city of Jimeta is the administrative and commercial centre. They are generally referred to as Yola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adamawa State</span> State of Nigeria

Adamawa State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west for 95 km, and Taraba to the southwest for about 366 km, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon across the Atlantica Mountains for about 712 km. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Adamawa, with the emirate's old capital of Yola, serving as the capital city of Adamawa state. The state is one of the most heterogeneous in Nigeria, with over 100 indigenous ethnic groups. It was formed in 1991, when the former Gongola state was divided into Adamawa and Taraba states. Since it was carved out of the old Gongola State in 1991 by the General Ibrahim Badamsi Babangida military regime, Adamawa State has had 10 men, both military and civilian, controlling the levers of power, who played crucial roles in transforming the state into what it is today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bola Tinubu</span> President of Nigeria since 2023

Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is a Nigerian politician who is the 16th and current president of Nigeria. He was the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.

Boni Haruna is a Nigerian politician who served as Minister for Youth Development of Nigeria from 2014 to 2015. He previously served as governor of Adamawa State from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

George Akume ; born 27 December 1953) is a Nigerian politician who is the 21st and current Secretary to the Government of the Federation, appointed by President Bola Tinubu. He served as Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs during the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2023. He was the Senator representing Benue North-West Senatorial District from 2007 to 2019. He was also the Minority Leader of the Senate from June 2011 to June 2015. He served as the Governor of Benue State from May 1999 to May 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic and Financial Crimes Commission</span> Nigerian government agency

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community's efforts to fight money laundering. The agency has its head office in Abuja, Nigeria.

Farida Mzamber Waziri is a Nigerian technocrat, law enforcement officer and former executive chairperson of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) She succeeded Nuhu Ribadu in this post.

Sir Mike Mbama Okiro was the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force from 2007 to 2009.

Sunday Gabriel Ehindero was the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force from 2005 to 2007.

Ogbonna Okechukwu Onovo is a former Inspector General of the Nigerian Police (IGP), serving from July 2009 to September 2010. He was appointed IGP upon the retirement of Mike Mbama Okiro.

Mustafa Adebayo Balogun, widely known as Kumawu, was a Nigerian police officer, 11th Inspector General of Police from March 2002, but was forced to retire because of widespread charges of corruption in January 2005.

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Ibrahim Lamorde is a Nigerian police officer who was appointed Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 23 November 2011 after chairman Farida Waziri had been dismissed by President Goodluck Jonathan. He was confirmed as Chairman by the Senate on 15 February 2012.

Ibrahim Magu, is a Nigerian police officer who served as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC from 9 November 2015, until his suspension on 7 July 2020. He was replaced by Muhammed Umar as the acting EFCC chairman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed</span> Nigerian politician (born 1971)

Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, also known as Binani, is a Nigerian politician and entrepreneur who was the senator for Adamawa Central from 2019 to 2023. On 30 March 2020, she was appointed Gimbiyar Adamawa by the Adamawa Emirate Council.

Abdulrasheed Bawa is a Nigerian detective and law enforcement agent who served as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 24 February 2021 to 14 June 2023 when he was suspended on by President Bola Tinubu over allegations of corruption. He replaced Umar Mohammed Abba, the acting Chairman of the commission. Until his appointment, he was the Deputy Chief Superintendent of the anti-graft agency.

The 2019 Adamawa State gubernatorial election occurred in Nigeria on March 9, 2019. PDP candidate Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri won the election, defeating Bindo Jibrilla of the APC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Adamawa State gubernatorial election</span> 2023 gubernatorial election in Adamawa State, Nigeria

The 2023 Adamawa State gubernatorial election took place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Adamawa State, concurrent with elections to the Adamawa State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly. The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was held three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections. Incumbent Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (PDP) was re-elected by a 3.75% margin over first runner-up and APC nominee — Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed.

Betta Chimaobim Edu is a Nigerian politician. She served as national women leader of All Progressive Congress. She was Cross River State Commissioner for Health until her resignation in 2022. She was also National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

References

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  2. "Ribadu vs Binani: Court nullifies Adamawa APC Gov'ship Primary - Daily Trust". dailytrust.com. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. "Ribadu committee exposes how presidency, NNPC spend oil revenues as slush funds". www.premiumtimesng.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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  7. None (1985). The Europa year book 1985 : a world survey. Internet Archive. London : Europa Publications. p. 2309. ISBN   978-0-905118-79-6.
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  12. "Nigerian leaders 'stole' $380bn". BBC. BBC News. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
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  14. "Uncertainty over Tafa Balogun's loot". The News Planetario. 24 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
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  19. Gabriel, Chioma; Emmanuel Aziken and Leon Usigbe (29 December 2007). "Soyinka, Reps, others condemn Ribadu's removal". Vanguard Online. Vanguard Media. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  20. "Nuhu Ribadu" Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Center for Global Development, accessed 22 February 2010
  21. "Ribadu dumps APC, joins PDP - Premium Times Nigeria". Premiumtimesng.com. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  22. Godwin, Ameh Comrade (22 July 2016). "Ribadu finally joins APC". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  23. Nairametrics (19 June 2023). "Tinubu appoints Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser". Nairametrics. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  24. Oluwasanjo, Ahmed (3 April 2024). "American Tigran Gambaryan trained 70 EFCC officials, recovered $400,000 for Nigeria before NSA Ribadu ambushed him: Binance". Peoples Gazette Nigeria. Retrieved 4 April 2024.