The new Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, formally assumed duties on January 14, following the retirement of his predecessor, Ibrahim Idris. Until his new appointment, he was an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) and a Directing Staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.
As a versatile and seasoned police officer, the new IGP has attended several senior officer courses on law enforcement, crime prevention, control and management within and outside Nigeria.
Born on November 9, 1961, Adamu enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in 1986 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) after obtaining a B.Sc degree in Geography. He had once served as a director of peacekeeping operations. He was also an AIG in charge of Zone 5 Police Command Headquarters, Benin, Edo State.
The Nassarawa-born police chief had served with the United Nations and Interpol. He was also a Commissioner of Police in Ekiti and Enugu states. The new Acting IGP came into office with great optimism, judging from his initial pronouncements. He has promised to restore the dwindling primacy of the Nigerian Police Force within the internal security architecture of the nation. Adamu has also promised to provide professional and responsible leadership to advance the fortunes of the police. He called on police personnel to abstain from conducts capable of dragging the image of the police into disrepute as well as putting their careers in jeopardy.
There is no doubt that his emergence as the police boss at this crucial time in the nation’s history comes with a lot of expectations. He must not fail the nation. His pledge to adhere to professionalism in running the affairs of the Force should be vigorously pursued. He should also learn from the mistakes of his predecessor and improve on his achievements.
It is laudable that he wants to ensure adequate policing of the country, improve the welfare of the police and restore the dwindling image of the Force. He should ensure that police personnel are well kitted and equipped. The remuneration of policemen and women must be enhanced. The era of poor dressing and despicable misconduct of policemen should be a thing of the past.
We urge the new IGP to keep to his promises and build a police that Nigerians should be very proud of. Although the challenges are enormous, we believe that with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and indeed all Nigerians, he will improve the fortunes of the police. We enjoin the new police boss to reform the police so that officers and men of the Force should concentrate on the core police duties of detection, prevention and prosecution of crime. All police personnel should be exposed to periodic training and retraining in line with the dictates of modern policing.
The police should revisit the issue of unresolved murders as well as stop forthwith the dehumanization of suspects. The human rights of all Nigerians should not be violated by the police. The police must ensure the security of all Nigerians at all times. For this to be achieved, the numerical strength of the Force ought to be increased from what it is at present.
To boost the morale of all offices and men of the Force, the issue of contentious promotions in the Force should be reviewed to right past wrongs. There is need for the police leadership to evolve new strategies to tackle the nation’s rising security challenges. The new IGP must ensure that the police under his watch must maintain the position of absolute political neutrality before, during and after the elections. He should ensure adequate security for all Nigerians during the elections.
We congratulate the new IGP on his appointment and wish him a successful tenure.