Due to Umaru Shinkafi's sudden resignation, President Shagari immediately appointed Ambassador Mohammed Lawal Rafindadi as the new NSO Director General (DG). Ambassador Rafindadi was a career diplomat and pioneer officer in the Research Department intelligence unit. Unlike Shinkafi whose background was in the Nigeria police Rafindadi was an experienced intelligence officer with several foreign postings including the United kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Germany. Not considering his relatively short stay in office, Lawal Rafindadi was the most controversial director general of the NSO because of activities during his tenure and after he had been removed from office. The NSO definitely achieved the most notoriety under the leadership of Lawal Rafindadi, it has been alleged in some quarters that it was only General Buhari, Tunde Idiagbon and the Director General of the NSO that ran the government; "the NSO was superior to all other intelligence organizations".