US embassy cable - 05LAGOS1790

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 001790 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W 
STATE FOR INR/AA 
STATE FOR INL 
DEA FOR OI, OC, OID, OIE, OEE, OSE 
POST FOR DEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SNAR, NI 
SUBJECT: DRUG CHIEF REPLACED 
 
REF: LAGOS 1768 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Consul General Brian L. Browne for Reason 1.4 (D) 
 
1.  (U) Dr. Bello Lafiaji has been removed as Chairman of the 
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and replaced by 
Ahmadu Giade, effective immediately. 
 
2.  (U) Giade is a retired deputy commissioner of police, and 
in 1994 while on active duty he served on a panel 
investigating NDLEA corruption and evidence tampering.  Post 
is attempting to gather additional information about the new 
Chairman. 
 
3.  (C)  No official reason was given for Lafiaji's removal, 
but Lafiaji's removal comes as the latest link in a chain of 
events including often tense meetings with Lafiaji and the 
Ambassador's intervention with President Obasanjo about the 
NDLEA's declining cooperation with us on counter-narcotics. 
In recent years NDLEA has focused primarily on apprehension 
of low-level narcotics couriers rather than targeting leaders 
and/or financiers of trafficking organizations.  More 
disturbingly, instances where major figures have been 
initially detained have yielded no convictions and have been 
suspiciously dropped. 
 
4.  (C) Comment:  After a mid-November meeting with the 
President, Lafiaji was mistakenly buoyed that he was in the 
President's good graces.  Lafiaji joins a growing list of 
officials who have misread President Obasanjo's penchant for 
acting friendly toward his target as a prelude to abruptly 
dismissing him.  In the end, the President apparently saw 
through Lafiaji's attempt to paint his organization as a 
vigilant one.  The President also understood the gravity of 
the situation regarding GON narcotics trafficking performance 
and how it could stultify the bilateral relationship. 
Weighing this in the balance, Obasanjo quickly made the only 
reasonable decision -- telling Lafiaji his disservice was no 
longer needed.  End comment. 
BROWNE