Ismaila Gwarzo

Aliyu Ismaila Gwarzo
Director General of the State Security Service
In office June 1986 – August 1993
Preceded by	Mohammed Lawal Rafindadi
Succeeded by	Albert Horsfall
National Security Advisor
In office August 1993 – June 1998
Personal details
Born	Gwarzo, Kano State, Nigeria

Aliyu Ismaila Gwarzo was the National Security Advisor of Nigerian military ruler Sani Abacha. He has been linked to theft of $2.45 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Aliyu Ismaila Gwarzo was born in the village of Gwarzo in Kano State, about 72 kilometres from the capital Kano. He entered the police force where he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, retiring with a senior rank. In June 1986 the military head of state General Ibrahim Babangida appointed Gwarzo Director General of the newly formed State Security Service (SSS), responsible for domestic intelligence. His Deputy Director was Lt. Colonel A.K. Togun.

In a case that attracted considerable media attention, Dele Giwa, editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, was killed on 19 October 1986 by a parcel bomb. Two days earlier SSS officials had summoned Giwa to their headquarters, where Colonel A. K. Togun accused him of planning a social revolution and of smuggling arms into the country. Gwarzo was suspected of involvement in the assassination, but could not be questioned due to his position.

Gwarzo was National Security Advisor (NSA) for President Ernest Shonekan, who took office in August 1993, and then for General Sani Abacha from November 1993 onward. He concentrated mostly on security matters, and did not become involved in foreign policy decisions. However, Gwarzo did ask for funds for a campaign to cultivate the friendship of East African countries and the OAU to garner support for Nigeria gaining a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Within Nigeria, Gwarzo collected money for use in pro-government propaganda. The amounts spent were leaked to the radio and press, undermining the credibility of the regime. Gwarzo and Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha's Chief Security Officer, were said to be responsible for much of the "torture, killing and wanton looting" during Abacha's rule.

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