1960Born in Yola, present-day Adamawa State.

1980sStudied law at Ahmadu Bello University and completed professional legal training; called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984.

1986Joined the Nigeria Police Force and began a career in policing and criminal investigation.

1990s–2002Served in investigative, operational and legal/prosecution roles, culminating in leadership of the police legal and prosecution function.

2003Appointed pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

2003–2007Led the EFCC through its formative period, pursuing financial-crime investigations and strengthening the agency’s institutional profile.

2011Entered electoral politics and contested the Adamawa governorship under the National Transformation Party.

2014–2016Participated in opposition-party realignments, including the APC/PDP period surrounding the 2015 Adamawa governorship contest.

2018Received a Global Lifetime Award for Anti-Corruption at an international ceremony in Malaysia.

2023Appointed Special Adviser on Security and then National Security Adviser by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

2024–2026Led and supported national-security coordination, counter-terrorism partnerships, international security engagement and strategic planning.

2026Continues serving as NSA, including work on national threat assessment, defence planning and international security cooperation.