ONLY NOTHERN MUSLIMS LIKELY SUCCESSORS AS IGP ADAMU RETIRES FEBRUARY 1

Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing new leaders, who can replace old ones when they leave, retire or die.

The Nigeria Police is heading for a major test this February as the current Inspector General, Mohammed Adamu retires on attainment of the of 60/35 years service age stipulated by the civil service rules of the nation leaving only four NOTHERN Muslims as the only possible and likely successsors in a multi-Ethnic and religious country like Nigeria.

The Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), is the head of the Force as the most senior officer in the police service.

The pioneer IGP is Louis Edet and the current IGP is Mohammed Adamu who is billed for retirement on February 1, 2021.

Quite expectedly, weeks to Adamu’s retirement, the issue of a likely replacement has taken centre stage.

Under Buhari In 2020, the NPF underwent major overhauls when President Muhammadu Buhari in a memo dated September 16, 2020, communicated his assent to the Nigeria Police Bill, 2020 to the National Assembly.

Specifically, the new Police Act provided among others, that a person to be appointed IGP shall be a senior police officer not below the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with the requisite academic qualification of not less than a first degree or its equivalent in addition to professional and managerial experience.

Part 111 Section 7 (6) of the Act, which repealed the Police Act Cap. P19, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, prescribed a four-year single tenure for a person appointed to the office of the IGP subject to the provisions of clause 18 (8), which stipulates that every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.

The key requirements for eligibility as intended by the Act can therefore be safely summarized as educational qualification and experience, at least four remaining years in service and rank. Statutorily, By implication this therefore made sure that three DIGs Aminchi Baraya, Ibrahim Lamorde, and Nkpa Inakwu and 10 AIGs Hosea Karma, Mohammed Mustafa, Jonah Mava, Olusholla David, Yununa Babas, Nkereuwem Akpan, Olafimihan Adeoye, Agunbiade Lasore, Undie Adie and Olugbenga Adeyanju are scheduled to exit the Force with Adamu on February 1.

Also as per the provisions of the Police Act 2020, all the three DIGs and two AIGs in the race for the office of IGP have been caught in the web of the hurdles as none of them has four more years left in the service – a statutory prerequisite for eligibility. While DIG Sanusi Lemu is scheduled to quit the police force on January 30, 2023, DIG Usman Baba and DIG Dan-Mallam Mohammed will leave on March 1, 2023, and December 18, 2023, respectively.

This limits the scope of choice to three Deputy Inspectors General of Police, two Assistant Inspectors General of Police and a Commissioner of Police recently deployed as acting Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force CID Annex, Lagos. They include DIG Sanusi Lemu, DIG Usman Alkali Baba, DIG Dan-Mallam Mohammed, AIG Hafiz Inuwa, AIG Garba Umar and CP Dasuki Galadanchi, who recently completed a course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
All NOTHERN Muslims.

There are strong indications also that subtle moves have begun to secure the extension of Adamu’s tenure beyond his retirement date which is creating tension among men and officers of the police force.