The appointment and subsequent decoration of a new acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday will no doubt have grave implications on the polity, particularly the forthcoming general elections and the lingering insecurity in the country. Adamu took over from Ibrahim Idris who bowed out as the 19th indigenous IGP after clocking the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
He has since assumed duty at the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja with a pledge to play by the rules. Adamu’s appointment would be ratified by the Police Service Commission and the Council of State. Fielding questions from State House correspondents after he was decorated by the president, the new IGP said he would evolve new strategies on addressing issues of kidnapping and other security challenges. On the forthcoming elections, Adamu said the police would be neutral in discharging their constitutional duties with regards to the conduct of the election.
“I want to thank Mr. President for considering me worthy to be the next Inspector General of Police. We know that there are security challenges that we need to tackle in the country; issues of kidnapping, abduction and other security challenges. “From the strategies put in place by the former IGP, we will re-strategise and make sure that we tackle these challenges squarely.
“On the elections, you have heard from the former IGP, adequate arrangement has been made to make sure that free and fair and credible elections take place in Nigeria. We are going to build on the strategies put in place to make sure that we have hitch-free elections in the country.
“We are professionals. We are going to stick to the rules; we are going to do the right thing. We will not go outside the ethics of our job to do things that are untoward, everybody will be given level playing ground to play his or her politics,” he pledged. Adamu was born on September 17, 1961 in Lafia, Nasarawa state and enlisted into the Force on February 1, 1986 as Cadet Assistant Inspector General of Police.
He holds Masters of Science Degree (MSc) in International Criminal Justice Systems from the University of Portsmouth, England and a Bachelor of Science (BSC) Hons Geography from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He is known as an experienced detective who received training from various institutions within and outside Nigeria. Before his appointment as the acting IGP, he was a Directing Staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State. Between 2016 and 2017, he was Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police Benin City, Edo State responsible for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Zone 5, comprising Bayelsa, Delta and Edo State Police Commands. From 2013 to 2015 he was Commissioner of Police (CP) Enugu State Command Enugu, also from 2012 to 2014 served as the Vice President Interpol in Lyon France.
This was after he was elected as Interpol Vice President responsible for Africa at its meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. Adamu also carried out several criminal investigations for Nigeria in the United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and several West African countries. The new police boss had equally worked at various times in Kaduna, Ekiti, Lagos, Cross River and Imo states.
It is gratifying to note that the acting IGP understands the gravity of the immediate task confronting him to wit the impending general elections and the rising wave of insecurity including insurgency, kidnapping, armed robbery, farmers/herders’ conflicts etc. He must therefore hit the ground running in addressing these thorny issues.
Adamu seems to be on a sure foot considering the counsel of his predecessor and the goodwill messages from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Former IGP Idris had advised the new police boss to go round the country and adopt measures that would enhance security. The Director General of NGF, Mr. Asishana B Okauru, expressed optimism that Adamu would bring professionalism and true leadership to policing in Nigeria.
A statement signed by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, the Head, Media and Public Affairs of the NGF Secretariat, the DG said Adamu’s appointment is well deserved considering his accomplishments. The NGF prayed that the new top cop would harness all experiences from his previous offices, at home and abroad, to curb crime, ensure peace in the entire country and propound the policing principles that would lead Nigerians to believe that the police are their friends.
In a statement by spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party charged the Acting IGP, to immediately commence the re-engineering of the Nigeria Police to restore professionalism and adherence to rules of engagement in the Force.
Blueprint, therefore, urges the acting IGP to leverage on these enormous goodwill and uncommon show of solidarity, especially by the PDP, which has a penchant for criticizing every action or policy of the Buhari administration, by walking his talk on the twin issues of elections and insecurity.
