Mr. Adamu Mohammed, a former commissioner of police in Enugu state, will be named acting inspector-general of police (IGP) to replace the controversial Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, who had been expected to retire on January 3 after completing the mandatory 35 years in service.
A police source told the TheCable that the appointment would be made public any moment from now.
The source said Mohammed, who hails from Nasarawa state, was “transferred out of relevance”.
He was said to have been appointed from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos.
Mohammed was a deputy commissioner of police in Ekiti state and had served at the Interpol. He rose to the rank of assistant inspector general of police (AIG).
His appointment lays to rest the controversy surrounding the tenure of outgoing IGP Idris.
There had been reports on the plot to extend Idris’ tenure but opposition parties kicked against it.
A senior presidency official confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari had asked the attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, for a legal opinion on the possible extension of Idris’ tenure, according to TheCable.
The source said Buhari was favourably disposed to extending Idris’ tenure “by two to three months” but would not want any legal issues around it.
The source said, “The president has asked Malami for a legal opinion on the tenure extension. He does not want to take any decision that will be upturned by the courts.”
IGP Idris, who was appointed by President Buhari on June 21, 2016, replaced Solomon Arase, who retired from the police force on same day.
But his tenure had been controversial. He was accused of being partisan and more loyal to Mr. Buhari and the ruling AllProgressives Congress (APC) than the constitution he took an oath to defend.
The outgoing IGP enlisted into the Nigerian Police Force in 1984, after graduating from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture.
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