Amb. Nicholas Agbo Ella was born on 11th April 1965 at Ogene-Amejo in Benue State, Nigeria. He graduated in law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with a Second Class Honours degree in 1988. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989, after graduation from the Nigerian Law School in Lagos. He also obtained Master degrees in International Relations and law from the Monash University in Australia and ICFAI University, Hyderabad, India in 1998 and 2005, respectively.

After graduation, Amb. N. A. Ella practiced law in Lagos from 1991 to 1993, before he joined the Nigerian Foreign Service on 13^th April 1993. He was promoted to his current rank of Director (Special Grade) Level 17 with effect from January 2020. He had served in various capacities at Headquarters and our diplomatic posts abroad.

At the Headquarters, Amb. Ella, served in the Postings and Discipline Section, Legal and Treaties Division, Office of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary (African Affairs).  He also served as Deputy Director and Acting Director in the Office of the Honourable Minister under Ambassador Aminu Wali, former Foreign Minister and the current Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.

With regards to diplomatic service, Amb. Ella had served as Third & Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations in Geneva from 1998 to 2000 and as Counsellor at the Nigeria High Commission, New Delhi from 2003 to 2007, he held the posts of Senior Counsellor, Minister Counsellor and Minister at the Embassy of Nigeria, Beijing from 2010 to 2013. Amb. Ella was posted to the Consulate General of Nigeria in New York in May 2017 and served there in various capacities as Consul in charge of Immigration Matters as well as Trade and Investment.  He returned to Headquarters in January 2022, and in April 2022, he assumed the position of Director, Consular and Legal Department.

In the course of his diplomatic career, Amb. Ella had participated in various courses, both at home and abroad, such as: Nigerian Foreign Service Academy Course (1993 – 1994); Foreign Affairs & Trade Program at Monash University, Australia (1997 – 1998); UNITAR Fellowship Programme in International Affairs Management, Geneva (1999); and Professional Training for Diplomats at the Indian Foreign Service Institute, New Delhi (2006).

Amb. Ella is proficient in his native Idoma language, Hausa and English. His hobbies are reading, playing badminton and listening to music.

Amb. Ella has to his credit a research work on “The Role of Regional Organizations in Peacekeeping Operations: An Appraisal of ECOWAS’ Intervention in Liberia (M. A. Thesis), April 1998.