Lateef Kayode Are is a retired Nigerian Army Colonel who was

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) from 1999 to 2007 and briefly served as National Security Adviser in 2010. Are served as an officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence up until retirement by General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. Are was appointed as Director-General of the State Security Service by President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, served in that post throughout President Obasanjo's two terms (1999-2007), and was replaced by

Afakiriya Gadzama Afakriya Aduwa Gadzama mni OFR (22 November 1953) is a Nigerian security officer who is the current Chairman of the National Institute for Security Studies. He previously served as Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) under Presi ...

, who was appointed in August 2007 by President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...

Background and education

Are was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in December 1974 from the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration ...

as part of the NDA Regular Course 12. He graduated among the best ten student officers and was deployed to the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corp following his graduation from the Defence Academy. Are's NDA Regular Course 12 mates included officers such as General

Owoye Andrew Azazi Owoye Andrew Azazi (1 February 1952 – 15 December 2012) was a Nigerian army General (Nigeria), general who served as National Security Adviser (Nigeria), National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, was Chief of Defence Staff (N ...

, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye. Are later graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Psychology in 1980 from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

where he won the University Senate prize, Faculty of Social Sciences prize and the Department of Psychology prize for best graduating student. He later obtained a master's degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

in 1987.

Director General of the SSS

Are served with General Aliyu Gusau at the Directorate of Military Intelligence during Are's time in the army. In 1999, Gusau, the newly appointed National Security Adviser, recommended Are to President

, who appointed Are as Director General of the State Security Service. There is some speculation that Are and Obasanjo's Owu kinship played a role in Are's appointment as Director General.

National Security Adviser

In April 2010, Are was appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser by President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

. This was a newly created position. When Aliyu Gusau resigned as National Security Advisor (NSA), Kayode Are took over as Acting NSA. Jonathan relieved Are as NSA and appointed General

as NSA, effective on 4 October 2010. The announcement of the change said "The President thanked the outgoing NSA for his services, and wished him well in his future endeavours". Five years after the resignation, Are's residence in Ikoyi was raided by the Nigerian State Security Service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Are, Kayode Living people Directors general of the State Security Service (Nigeria) Nigerian security personnel National Security Organization staff Nigerian Defence Academy alumni University of Lagos alumni Yoruba military personnel University of Ibadan alumni Year of birth missing (living people)