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Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Kayode Are, has presented his Letter of Credence to President Donald Trump at the White House.
The ceremony was held on Thursday, May 21, and featured an honour guard by the armed forces, as well as officers from the State Department and staff of the National Security Council.
Are was among 12 ambassadors who presented their credentials to the US president. Others included ambassadors from South Africa, Chad, Chile, Yemen, Australia and Kyrgyzstan.
President Bola Tinubu approved Are’s posting in January 2026 after the Senate confirmed his nomination in December 2025.
Born in 1955, Kayode Are is a retired Nigerian Army colonel, intelligence officer and former Director General of the State Security Service, now known as the Department of State Services.
Popularly regarded as one of Nigeria’s most experienced security operatives, he built a career spanning more than three decades in military intelligence and national security administration.
Are began his military journey at the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of Regular Combatant Course 12. He graduated among the top 10 cadets and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army in December 1974.
In 1980, he earned a First Class Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Ibadan, graduating as the institution’s best student and winning the University Senate Prize, Faculty of Social Sciences Prize and Department of Psychology Prize. He later obtained a Master’s Degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos in 1987.
Are served as an intelligence officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence and rose to the rank of colonel before his compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army in 1993.
Following Nigeria’s return to democratic rule, he was appointed Director General of the State Security Service in May 1999. He served until August 2007, making him the longest-serving DG in the history of the agency. During his tenure, he worked under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
He also served as Deputy National Security Adviser to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, contributing significantly to national security coordination and intelligence management.
