Nuhu Ribadu

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]

Nuhu Ribadu
National Security Adviser
Assumed office
26 June 2023
PresidentBola Tinubu
Preceded byBabagana Monguno
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
In office
2003–2007
PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byFarida Waziri
Personal details
Born (1960-11-21) 21 November 1960
Yola, Northern Region, Nigeria (now in Adamawa State)
Political partyAll Progressives Congress (2013–2014; 2016–present)
Other political
affiliations
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • police officer

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. 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.[5]

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.[6] 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."[7] In December 2007, Mike Okiro, Inspector-General of Police, stated that Ribadu would be removed as EFCC chairman for a one-year training course.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] Ribadu escaped two assassination attempts in Nigeria before he left the country for the United Kingdom in early 2009.[15]

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.[8] 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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18] He later joined the ruling APC and contested for governorship of Adamawa in 2019 and 2023,[19] 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.[20]

References
  1. "Ribadu upgraded to NSA, Lagbaja named army chief... Tinubu appoints new security chiefs". TheCable. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. "Ribadu vs Binani: Court nullifies Adamawa APC Gov'ship Primary - Daily Trust". dailytrust.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. "Ribadu commitee exposes how presidency, NNPC spend oil revenues as slush funds". www.premiumtimesng.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  4. "Buhari felicitates with Nuhu Ribadu at 60". 20 November 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  5. "20 most influential Nigerians". Vanguard News. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. "Nigeria anti-graft tsar promoted". BBC News. BBC. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  7. "Only VP can withdraw Ribadu from NIPSS – PSC chairman". Nigerian Observer. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  8. Omonobi, Kingsley; Emmanuel Ulayi (27 December 2007). "EFCC: Okiro confirms Ribadu's exit". Vanguard Online. Vanguard Media. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  9. "Nigerian leaders 'stole' $380bn". BBC. BBC News. 20 October 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  10. "Malam Nuhu Ribadu: The crime burster". Vanguard Online. Vanguard Media. 1 January 2006. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2006.
  11. "Uncertainty over Tafa Balogun's loot". The News Planetario. 24 May 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  12. "Corruption Case Exposes Scope of Bribery in Nigeria". Pbs.org. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  13. "Doctor Who". Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  14. "huhuonline". Huhuonline.com. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  15. "Nuhu Ribadu, fearless, relentless against fraud". National Light. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  16. 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.
  17. "Nuhu Ribadu" Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Center for Global Development, accessed 22 February 2010
  18. "Ribadu dumps APC, joins PDP - Premium Times Nigeria". Premiumtimesng.com. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  19. Godwin, Ameh Comrade (22 July 2016). "Ribadu finally joins APC". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  20. Nairametrics (19 June 2023). "Tinubu appoints Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser". Nairametrics. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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