- Six likely successors unveiled
- ‘Embattled IGP seeks Emir of Kano, Etsu Nupe’s
intervention’
Embattled Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, is currently making frantic efforts to save his job, as the Presidency has intensified moves to replace him, The Point’s investigations have revealed.
Impeccable Presidency sources told our correspondent that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had already concluded plans to sack the incumbent IGP, as it could no longer stomach the various allegations of corruption and other infractions continuously being levelled against Idris by both police personnel and others outside the
force.
But as Idris struggles to retain his job, The Point learnt that he had already contacted a foremost traditional ruler in his home state of Niger, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar; and the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, to plead with the Presidency.
The Buhari administration’s decision to do away with the IGP arose from what it believed was Idris’ “penchant for embarrassing the Presidency, especially on matters bearing on the security of the country
IGP’s MANY SINS
Already, more than 2,000 petitions had been sent to the Presidency, demanding Idris’ removal as IGP, a Presidency source said.
Many of these petitions, it was learnt, were forwarded to the Presidency by serving policemen, anonymously. Several other petitions on alleged corrupt practices of the IGP are also said to be currently before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Presidency, it was learnt, had also not been very happy with the alleged friction that occurred some months ago between Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the IGP, while Buhari was away in London for medical treatment and the former was the acting president.
The Presidency source said that Idris incurred Buhari’s wrath, when the then acting president, during his visit to the President in London, reported an alleged act of insubordination, committed by the IGP. He had reportedly accused Idris of unilaterally withdrawing his (Osinbajo’s) police aide-de-camp, without first informing him or even seeking his consent.
Idris, who was said to have been queried then, had also reportedly defended his action by claiming that posting in the police force was a routine exercise that was the prerogative of his office, without recourse to any other government official or person.
“The IGP Idris’ response then angered the then acting president, who apparently felt slighted and reported the matter to President Buhari, who also was not happy with the police boss for such an act of insubordination, and that seemed to have been the beginning of his current ordeal. But to placate the vice president, he now endorsed his ADC to participate in the forthcoming International Conference of Chiefs of Police. But that is medicine after death because his fate has already been determined,” another reliable Presidency source said.
A report by a group simply identified as “Professionals,” comprising some prominent Nigerians, sent to the Presidency about the alleged incompetence of Idris as the country’s police boss, was also said to have worsened the case of the IGP.
The group, which was said to have, in the past five months, mounted more pressure on the Presidency for Idris’ removal, it was learnt, had cited, in its report to the Presidency, the various cases of threats to internal security and violence across the country, which the IGP had failed to quell until troops of the Nigerian Army were drafted in to put such situations under control.
The group particularly pointed at his inability to quell the violent crisis that engulfed Zaria in Kaduna State, following an uprising by Shiites Islamic sect, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zak Zaky, and his alleged failure to stop the incessant killings in Southern Kaduna by suspected Fulani marauders as “concrete evidence” of his incompetence as the nation’s IGP.
If the IGP succeeds in stopping the Senate probe, how then will the truth be known about the weighty allegations of graft, immorality, nepotism and indiscipline leveled against the IGP by Senator Misau? And I would say no double standards and the use of the court to subvert justice. No one should be treated as a sacred cow
“In the case of the daily killings in Southern Kaduna, the IGP has been unable to stem this dangerous tide. Up till date, he has not arrested a single suspect, not to talk of prosecuting anyone for the killings in that area. It was only when soldiers were deployed in the area that the people began to have some relief. So, there is no way he can continue to be retained as the IGP by this government. He has to go,” the source said.
Similarly, his failure to carry out the arrest and prosecution of the members of the Arewa Youth Coalition, who issued an October 1 quit notice to Igbo living in the North, was said to have angered the Buhari-led administration, which believed his handling of the vexed national issue with kids’ gloves fueled suspicion that the Federal Government was biased and sectional over the matter.
The Point also learnt that the Buhari administration’s decision to do away with the IGP arose from what it believed was Idris’ “penchant for embarrassing the Presidency, especially on matters bearing on the security of the country.”
Among some of the allegations contained in the petitions forwarded against the IGP to the Presidency, it was learnt, was his habit of promoting junior officers to the higher rank of Commissioner of Police, above substantive holders of the rank, said to have been sidelined by Idris.
A source at the Louis Edet House, Abuja Headquarters of the force said that such “anointed officers” were usually posted out to states as commissioners of police to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the IGP across the country.
“There are more than 10 substantive commissioners of police benched at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, by IGP Idris. He prefers to promote their juniors above them and transfer these his anointed officers to states as commissioners of police,” the source said.
MISAU, HIS ALBATROSS
The last straw that has broken the back of Idris’ camel is the recent allegation of corruption leveled against the IGP by a serving member of the National Assembly, Senator Isah Misau.
Misau had publicly accused Idris of failing to account for over N10billion he earned monthly from special security postings of over 100,000 policemen assigned to individuals and corporate bodies.
The senator also accused the IGP of having improper sexual relationships with junior female police officers, culminating in his recent secret marriage with one of them, who he allegedly impregnated and had earlier promoted from the rank of a sergeant to an assistant superintendent of police within 12 months.
The filing of criminal charges against Misau over the matter by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, was, however, said to have irked the Presidency, which decided to finally move against the IGP.
The Presidency, it was also learnt, frowned upon the IGP’s alleged donation of two SUVs each to both the President’s wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, allegedly to curry their favours.
The donation of the vehicles was said to have angered the Presidency because they were not part of the items contained in the police budget for 2016/ 2017.
The controversy that also trailed the police boss’ claim that he gave the two SUVs to the police security aides attached to the President’s wife and not to the First Lady herself, after Senator Misau opened more cans of worms about the scandals surrounding the IGP last week, was also said to have further embarrassed the Presidency.
TSAV, PATH OF PEACE INITIATIVE, CLO SPEAK
Meanwhile, some prominent Nigerians are of the opinion that, with the avalanche of evidence against him, the embattled IGP has overstayed his welcome as the nation’s police boss.
A former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said that the various allegations levelled against the IGP should be investigated by the appropriate authorities, rather than being swept under the carpet.
Tsav, who recalled how IGP Idris accused his predecessor, Solomon Arase, of corrupt practices, stressed that no one should be treated as a sacred cow in the current matter.
He said, “It is quite interesting and a new twist in our celebrated fight against corruption. We’ll all recall that IGP Idris accused his predecessor, IGP Solomon Arase, of stealing or going away with 17 vehicles. This was later found to be wickedly untrue. Now, Senator Misau is being charged to court for alleged injurious falsehood by the Attorney General of the Federation, apparently on the prompting of the police IGP, without first independently investigating the grave and specific allegations of graft, etc, against IGP Idris.
“If the IGP succeeds in stopping the Senate probe, how then will the truth be known about the weighty allegations of graft, immorality, nepotism and indiscipline leveled against the IGP by Senator Misau? And I would say no double standards and the use of the court to subvert justice. No one should be treated as a sacred cow.”
Similarly, the National President of a human rights group, Path of Peace Initiative, Comrade Dandi Eze, said that the President should have sacked the IGP long before now.
“What is Buhari waiting for? The IG should be sacked immediately. I know him and his antecedents. He is one of the most corrupt IGPs in this country. We know all his underground works. He should be investigated and brought to book,” he said.
But the National President, Civil Liberties Organisation, Comrade Kenny Bakare, cautioned that allegations against the IGP should be thoroughly investigated.
Bakare added that politics should not come into play in addressing the various allegations
against Idris.
He said, “The allegations must be properly investigated, and if he is found culpable, then he should be removed. That is what we are saying, everyone should not be corrupt. If he is being corrupt and it is investigated properly and he is guilty, he should be removed. But the removal must not be political.
“As far as we are concerned, he is actually working, because if you see the state of the police right now, they have changed. They are now adhering to the rule of law. Nevertheless, if there is any allegation against him, it should be properly investigated. Let’s find the truth. That is our own position, as far as we are concerned in CLO.”
IDRIS’ LIKELY SUCCESSORS
With the sack of the incumbent IGP on the cards, top ranking police officers being considered as replacement for Idris, according to The Point’s findings, include the officer in charge of administration at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Deputy Inspector General of Police Shuaibu Gambo. But Gambo, who hails from Niger State, like the embattled Idris, is due to retire from the force next year.
Also said to be on the Presidency’s radar as a likely replacement for IGP Idris is the DIG in charge of Operations (D Ops), Habilla Joshak, who is due to retire in
2019.
Others are AIG Lawal Shehu, in charge of Border Patrol; AIG Zone 1, Kano, Kayode Aderanti; and AIG Adamu Mohammed Abubakar, in charge of Zone 5, Benin,
Edo State.
Police sources, however, disclosed to The Point that a junior officer to the aforementioned top brass of the police force (names withheld), who is in the rank of a commissioner of police, may eventually get the top job as he is said to have more years ahead of him before retirement.
“He has up to 2020 before he is due for retirement and the Presidency is likely going to have preference for that officer, especially with the forthcoming 2019 general elections,” a source at the Force Headquarters
said.
The Presidency source further said that the officers penciled down for the police top job had already undergone “secret” security screening by the appropriate agencies.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh, did not pick calls made to his phone. He also did not reply to SMS sent
to him.
Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, did not respond to a text message sent to his
mobile phone.
