President Bola Tinubu’s recent appointment of the first-ever Special Adviser on Homeland Security was driven by pressure from service and intelligence chiefs over what they considered the National Security Adviser Office’s overreach into operational military matters, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.
Multiple presidency and security sources familiar with the appointment and the circumstances surrounding it told our correspondent that the move was triggered by a combination of professional friction between the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and the heads of the armed forces and intelligence-community concerns about the quality of analysis reaching the President.
A senior presidency source said the dissatisfaction within the security establishment had been building for months and was beginning to erode the cohesion of the national security architecture.
The source said, “The truth of the matter is that the service chiefs and the intelligence community are not happy with Ribadu. He is getting involved in operational matters that should be totally out of his purview. What is the job of the National Security Adviser? It is to coordinate the security and intelligence agencies, synthesise information and advise the President, not to dabble in operational matters of the armed forces, the police, or the DSS.”
The source pointed to what they described as a structural overreach.
“Now, you have a strange thing that has never happened before; we now have an ONSA tactical team. It’s like he has his own command now.
“You’ll now hear of an ONSA tactical team going on the street. You don’t run a command. You don’t run a military formation. That means dabbling in operational matters.”
On May 11, 2026, Tinubu approved the appointment of Major General Adeyinka Fadewa (retd.) as Special Adviser on Homeland Security.
The appointment was announced in a circular signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and issued by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr Ibrahim Kana.
According to the statement, the appointment reflects the administration’s commitment to strengthening internal security coordination, enhancing intelligence-driven operations, and improving inter-agency collaboration in tackling emerging security threats across the country.
“The SGF described Fadewa as a highly decorated retired military officer with over three decades of experience in military and intelligence operations, national security strategy, counter-terrorism, and international security diplomacy.
“He noted that Fadewa played a key role in shaping Nigeria’s intelligence coordination framework during his time as Principal General Staff Officer to the National Security Adviser between 2015 and 2021,” the statement read.
Akume said President Tinubu expressed confidence that the retired general would help advance the administration’s efforts to achieve a safer, more secure Nigeria.
The appointment came barely two weeks after Tinubu, at a meeting with a delegation from Plateau State at the State House on April 29, said his administration would do whatever was necessary to end the cycle of killings.
“My enemies want to use insecurity to get rid of me, but I am a very stubborn politician who refuses to leave,” Tinubu said at the time.
A second official told Sunday PUNCH that beyond the operational complaints, there was a deeper institutional tension over Ribadu’s policing background and the seniority dynamics within the military.
“The service chiefs and the intelligence chiefs are tired. They believe that there is this sense that he is a policeman. That thing has always been there. Military guys don’t particularly have regard for police people coming to handle serious security issues like these,” the source said.
He added, “But the new adviser is a retired general and is very likely senior to the current service chiefs. He retired in 2021. He is probably senior to the current chiefs. And you know, in the military, it’s about seniority. So the kind of influence and regard that this one will command with the security chiefs will be different. So these are the issues.”
The insider added that the President also wanted to take a broader view of the security situation.
“Another thing is that the President also needs a new, fresh perspective. A perspective from a particular angle might be coloured.
“So, he may not be getting the full and most objective facts, analysis, or appraisal of the situation. Maybe a fresh perspective helps,” said the official.
A third highly placed source in the security service said the underlying driver of the appointment was the President’s increasing impatience with the human and fiscal costs of the nearly two-decade-long battle against insurgency.
“It all boils down to the fact that the President is going to take on and do anything to make sure that we end this insecurity. And the President is actually really concerned. As he said last time, this country has been dealing with this matter for 20 years. It’s taking too long.
“The money we should be spending on education, healthcare, roads and power, we are spending on security. This thing has gulped more than N50tn since 2009.
“If we had spent that on our roads and rail, we would have gone far. So the President wants this to end. And I think he is ready to do anything that will make sure that the whole insurgency crisis ends,” the source said.
However, another Presidency official, who addressed the idea that the new appointment might foreshadow Ribadu’s eventual replacement as NSA, told Sunday PUNCH that the President was entitled to design the security architecture as he saw fit, and that both men were expected to function in complementary roles.
The official said, “He is the President. The constitution allows him to create any office as long as it helps him to govern and deliver value to Nigerians. For now, his position is Special Adviser on Homeland Security.
“If the President decides to make him NSA, that is the President’s prerogative. Both of them can work side by side, Ribadu and the new man.
“Don’t forget that the man has worked in the Office of the NSA before. If you look at his CV, he worked with General Monguno. So, he is not new to the NSA system and structure. Both of them will benefit from each other. They should be able to manage each other. What the country needs is results, and they should be able to deliver that to Nigerians.”
The Office of the NSA, established under the National Security Agencies Act, sits at the apex of Nigeria’s security coordination architecture.
Its constitutional responsibility is advisory and coordinating—synthesising intelligence from the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Defence Intelligence Agency, and the service arms of the military—and presenting unified analyses and recommendations to the President.
Ribadu, a pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, was appointed NSA by President Tinubu in June 2023, replacing Major General Babagana Monguno (retd.), who served under President Muhammadu Buhari.
As of the time of filing this report, the office of the NSA could not be reached for comments.
However, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said such appointments are the President’s prerogative.
“Anyone who understands what has been happening lately would quickly make reference to the Oyedele scenario. It is very possible to think like that. In the case of Oyedele, there has been an established pathway of performance and competence. He can explain tax to a five-year-old and they will understand. So there is a reform pathway. But that is not the same case here. The two are not the same cases,” the official said.
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