EXCLUSIVE: Buhari set to name AIG as new police inspector-general

Barring any last minute change in decision, President Muhammadu Buhari has tapped Abubakar Adamu Mohammed as the new Inspector-General of Police, PREMIUM TIMES can report based on interaction with top presidency and police sources.

Outgoing Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris met with the president at the State House on Monday afternoon, a visit police sources said has become a tradition for outgoing inspectors-general in recent years.

“We have a new police IG,” a senior officer told PREMIUM TIMES Monday night. “Ibrahim Idris has gone home to move his things from the official quarters and we are now waiting for a formal handing over.”

The source spoke under anonymity to avoid being castigated as disclosing crucial information before formal announcement.

Presidency sources also corroborated the development in separate exchanges with PREMIUM TIMES. Top security analysts have also disclosed their awareness.

Until his appointment Monday night, Mr Mohammed, from Nasarawa State, is an assistant inspector-general by rank. He is also known within police circles as Adamu Mohammed Lafia, in reference to his place of birth, which is the Nasarawa State capital.

Mr Mohammed was born on November 9, 1961. He enlisted in the police in 1986. He has a bachelors degree in geography.

He was at one time a director of peacekeeping operations. He is a former police commissioner in Enugu and was an AIG in charge of Zone 5.

He is currently a directing staff member at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State.

His elevation might see several deputy inspectors-general retired from service, an exercise that would be reminiscent of how Mr Buhari sacked DIGs when he named Mr Idris as IG in June 2016.

Mr Idris, who retires tomorrow on age grounds, was an AIG when he was appointed.

Mr Idris’ controversial tenure was capped with widespread insinuations that he might remain in office beyond the period permitted by Nigerian laws.

Critics had accused Mr Buhari of scheming to retain him for the 2019 elections, a claim administration supporters rejected.

Still, security analysts said critics and supporters of the government alike would be relieved of the controversies that characterised Mr Idris’ tenure.

The former IG was accused of corruption and brutality, although he denied wrongdoing and regularly praised himself as a fine law enforcement officer.

Mr Mohammed’s spent years of his career with Interpol, the international law enforcement outfit that has Nigeria as a prominent member. He was at the headquarters of the agency in Lyon, France, for several years.

Sources familiar with his career described him as a “diligent and unruffled” police officer.