“You Are Doing an Excellent Job,” Tinubu Tells NSA Ribadu

President Bola Tinubu says Nuhu Ribadu, the nationalsecurity adviser (NSA), is doing an “excellent job” in coordinating the fightagainst banditry and terrorism. Speaking on Monday in Yola, while inaugurating projectscompleted by the Adamawa state government, Tinubu said he is proud of Ribadu. The president said the country would overcome terrorism andbanditry under Ribadu’s leadership. “I must say clearly here that you are doing an excellentjob, and we have seen the results. With you, we will defeat the bandits andterrorists. You are a good national security adviser, honest, bold, courageousand committed to the job. I believe the state of Adamawa is strongly proud ofyou, because I am too,” Tinubu told the NSA, who hails from the north-eaststate. Tinubu’s commendation of Ribadu comes amid the allegationslevelled against the NSA by Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna. Last month, el-Rufai accused the office of the nationalsecurity adviser of procuring about 10 kilogrammes of thallium sulphate, ahighly toxic, colourless and odourless compound that can kill humans in smalldoses. The ONSA denied the allegation and asked him to supply anyevidence he has to the Department of State Services (DSS) for a thoroughinvestigation. Last Thursday, operatives attempted to arrest el-Rufai atthe Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when he touched down fromCairo, the capital of Egypt. El-Rufai would later allege that the Independent CorruptPractices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), at Ribadu’sinstruction, asked DSS officials to arrest him upon arrival. On Saturday, during an interview on Prime Time, an AriseTelevision programme, el-Rufai said “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone,allowing him to listen to the NSA directing security operatives to effect hisarrest. The DSS has filed a three-count charge against el-Rufai forallegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.

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