Ayo Oke is the former director general of Nigeria's National Intelligence Agency (NIA), appointed by then president Goodluck Jonathan on 7 November 2013.[1]
Ayo Oke was born in Oyo state.[2] Oke was previously the Director (Regions) at the headquarters of the NIA, and before that Nigeria's ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. He succeeded Ezekiel Olaniyi Oladeji as director general of Nigeria's National Intelligence Agency in November 2013.[3]
In April 2017, Oke was suspended by president Muhammadu Buhari after anti-corruption officers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission found more than US$43 million (£34m) in an apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.[4] [5] On 30 October, Oke was finally dismissed by the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari after consideration of the report of the investigative committee headed by the Vice President.[6]
In June 2023, Premium Times citing unnamed “inside sources” reported that the NIA DG Ahmed Abubakar and the chairman of the EFCC Abdul Rasheed Bawa met and resolved to terminate the legal proceeding against Oke in the “interest of national security”.[7] The resolution was then presented to president Muhammadu Buhari who approved it and ordered the termination of the case before the expiration of his tenure. On 9 June 2023, the case was struck out by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos following prosecutor’s (EFCC) motion to withdraw the case.[8] [9]