Police: Drama as Abba stalls handover, 3 DIGs protest Arase’s appointment

Police: Drama as Abba stalls handover, 3 DIGs protest Arase’s appointment

There was confusion and drama at the Force Headquarters in Abuja,
yesterday, as the sacked Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman
Abba, stalled the formal handover to his successor, Mr Solomon Arase, until he was compelled to do so by the Presidency.

This came as some former Inspectors-General of Police expressed
reservations over the manner Abba was removed while other leaders
were divided over the sack.

The handover ceremony which was earlier slated for 8 a.m. with
invitations sent to journalists for coverage from the office of the Force
Public Relations Officer, did not take place until almost 4pm following
the absence of the ex-Police boss at the headquarters.

Abba was said to have removed all his personal belongings before
leaving the office around 11.20 p.m. after the announcement, Tuesday.

According to his aides, when they visited his official residence at
Maitama early yesterday, Abba said he was yet to receive any official
letter informing him to hand over as he heard the news of his sack on
radio and television like other Nigerians.

Vanguard learnt that reporters who converged in their numbers early in
the morning for the handover, were disappointed as they were not
allowed access to Force Headquarters. No reasons, according to
sources, were given for the delay in the handing over ceremony.

Meanwhile, uncertainty continued to pervade Force Headquarters after
it was reliably gathered that three of the serving Deputy Inspectors-
General of Police were holding an emergency secret meeting in one of
the offices on the 6th floor of the headquarters building.

Feelers from the meeting indicated that they resolved to strongly
protest the appointment of their contemporary, Arase, DIG Intelligence,
as acting Police boss on the grounds that they were all promoted
same day on February 20, 2014.

The three DIGs were also said to have sworn to contest the
appointment of Arase to the highest level because they were not well
treated by his appointment. While palpable tension generated by the
ugly development threw Force Headquarters into confusion, other top
officers and the rank and file were seen in different moods.

Many of them stood in groups discussing the development in hushed
tones. Some officers were also seen in jubilant mood, praising
President Goodluck Jonathan for taking the decisive action.

They alleged that they were not well treated by the former IGP during
the elections as they were not paid their due allowances. Many of the
officers, however, commended the appointment of Arase, noting that
he is well suited for the job.

While the situation continued to generate tension, relief came at last
after the Presidency reportedly directed that the ceremony must be
completed without fail before end of the working day.

This, according to sources, forced Abba to quickly rush to Force
Headquarters after directing Force Public Relations Officer to issue
fresh releases inviting reporters for the ceremony at 2.30pm. The
handover later took place around 4.30pm.

After the dust had settled, the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Solomon Ehigiator Arase, yesterday took over command of the Nigeria
Police Force from his predecessor, Abba, with a declaration that he
will provide the highest possible level of professional leadership while
trusting that officers and men shall march hand-in-hand with him to
advance the fortunes of the Force.

Arase made the declaration even as he warned unrepentant felons
who may want to put to test the common will of the Force by
disrupting the re-run elections in Imo, Abia and Taraba states to think
again as the Force will not hesitate to deploy its potent assets to deal
firmly and decisively with deviants.

His words: “My dear officers, the task of blending our acclaimed
quality human assets with quality leadership is the main challenge
ahead of us but it is one I am convinced we can surmount.
“In so doing, we must resolve, both individually and collectively, to hold

our duties sacred, perform our functions with pride and exhibit the
highest level of professional excellence in all our engagements.
“Let me use this opportunity to quickly remind you that aside our
routine operations, we have within the short term, two major national
assignments where our professional expertise and commitment will
once again be subjected to national and international scrutiny. First, is
the conduct of the governorship elections in areas where they were
declared inconclusive by INEC— Imo, Abia and Taraba states.
“The second is the delivery of hitch-free presidential, governorship,
National/state Assembly inauguration at federal and state levels. While
with your support, I am confident that we have the operational
capacity to ensure the success of both exercises, I am not unmindful
of the possible security threats that some lawless individuals may
attempt to pose during the make-up elections.
“Consequently, while the unique intelligence assets of the force will be
deployed to proactively support our operational plans, there shall also
be massive deployment of men and materials to the affected areas in
order to assure a secure environment for the qualified electorate to
exercise their franchise.
“I must, however, re-emphasize that as a nation, we have had enough
of electoral violence. Therefore, under my leadership, we shall work
closely with INEC and other strategic stakeholders to ensure that such
acts will not only be defined as intolerable; perpetrators will be
identified, isolated and brought to deserved justice to act as
deterrence.
“To the unrepentant felons that may want to put our common will to
test, the message is being relayed here loud and clear, that in securing
the law-abiding, we shall also not hesitate to deploy our potent assets
to deal firmly and decisively with deviants. In addition, I will ensure
that the AIGs and CPs that will be deployed for the election duties are
empowered enough to ensure the success of their operations.
“In line with the principle of ‘to whom much is given, much more is
expected’, such senior officers should be prepared to be accountable
for their actions while the exercise lasts.”
While calling on political actors to assist the Police and other law
enforcement agents in sustaining the gains recorded in our democracy
journey, the Acting IG said:
“They should remember that politics is a game guided by rules and it
behoves them to play the game by the rules.”
On Abba, he said: “Aside being a vastly experienced police
administrator, IGP Suleiman Abba is known to be gifted with
exceptional leadership qualities which have manifested in his trade
mark comportment, humility and respect and courtesy with which he
treated members of his management team throughout his tenure. Even
more elating is that he is a unique motivational leader that
demonstrated genuine passion for the welfare of officers and men of
the force.”
On his part, former IGP, Abba said: “Let me first congratulate the
acting IGP for the elevation. With every sense of sincerity of purpose,
let me say it is a well-deserved appointment, not only for the
management of the force but for the society of Nigeria. That is to say
I wish him well and know he will do well.
“I want to thank the Almighty God for my appointment and like He
(God) said, He alone gives and He takes; particularly now that I am
leaving in good health. I want to also thank President Jonathan for
appointing me as IGP and seeing me up to this time because I believe
God knows the best.
“Now I want to move on with my life and in doing that, I want to use
this opportunity to appeal to those who we might have offended to
know that the nature of policing in a country like Nigeria is fraught
with its challenges. We have different people, different values. Even at
that, I want to appeal to those who feel deeply offended to have a
place in their heart to forgive and lend support to my colleagues.
“My happiness is that we have gone through the elections and after all
the hard work, the elections are almost over. I want to thank those
who helped in making sure that we have peace today. Leading in this
line is President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigeria Police Force, other
security agencies, the Peace committee, civil society groups. But it is
not yet over because elections are yet to be concluded in three
states.”