Chief Albert Korubo Horsfall, a former Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), now Department of State Services (DSS), and pioneer Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), has died at the age of 84.
Horsfall reportedly died on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at a hospital in Lagos after a prolonged illness. His death was announced by the Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi, on Friday.
Born on December 22, 1941, in Buguma, Rivers State, Horsfall began his career as a police officer and was among the pioneer officers of the former National Security Organisation (NSO).
Following the reorganisation of Nigeria’s security architecture in 1986, he was appointed the first Director-General of the newly established National Intelligence Agency, where he served until 1990.
He later became Director-General of the State Security Service, serving from September 1990 to October 1992.
After leaving the intelligence service, Horsfall served as the pioneer chairman of the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), where he was involved in development initiatives in the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta.
Reacting to his death, DSS Director-General Adeola Ajayi described Horsfall as an exceptional public servant who devoted his life to the security and development of Nigeria, offering condolences to his family, Rivers State, the Ijaw nation and the country.
His death marks the passing of one of the prominent figures involved in the early development of Nigeria's modern intelligence institutions.