The new Inspector – General of Police resume today. He is Ag. IGP Ibrahim Adamu Abubakar Muhammed Lafia.
He is being awaited by senior police officers who are still in their offices for directives .
A police source said the outgoing IGP Ibrahim Idris met with the president at the State House on Monday afternoon where he was briefed by the President that he would no longer extend his tenure as IGP .
The President was said to have told Idris that he had decided to wash his hands off the allegation of trying to use him to rig the presidential election in February.
A source from the presidency also told Cornerstone News that : ” Really President Muhammadu Buhari loves Idris , but not for the purpose of rigging the elections as alleged by the opposition parties . He had assured Idris who was due for retirement today of extending his service. Idris and his management team were not expecting their retirement ,but the president was receiving too much pressure from both the opposition party and the international community to allow the man who has clocked the age of retirement which is 60 and has also attained the required 35 years in the Force as stipulated by the Civil service law .
“Following the protest and criticism , President Buhari who holds Idris in high esteem ,invited him to the Villa ,where he told him that the plans have changed .Idris who took the president advice in good faith , hurried to the office to remove his belongings. There was palpable tension in the office as the seven DIGs could not go home as they smelt rat.However ,their fears were confirmed when Idris finally returned to the office to brief them of the development “.
A senior police source had earlier told Cornerstone News that ; “We have a new police IG .Ibrahim Idris has gone home to move his things from the official quarters and we are now waiting for a formal handing over.”
Until his appointment Monday night, Mr Mohammed, from Nasarawa State, is an assistant inspector-general by rank. He is also known within police circles as Adamu Mohammed Lafia, in reference to his place of birth, which is the Nasarawa State capital.
Mr Mohammed was born on November 9, 1961. He enlisted in the police in 1986. He has a bachelor in geography.
He was one time director of peacekeeping operations. He was a former police commissioner in Enugu and was an AIG in charge Zone 5.
He is currently a directing staff member at the National Institute of policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State.
His elevation would imminently see several deputy inspectors-general purged from service, an exercise that would be reminiscent of how Mr Buhari sacked DIGs when he named Mr Idris as IG in June 2016.
As at the time of going to the press , there was palpable tension in the entire police force as the officer fear mass transfer and retirement .
A DIG who claimed he was not disturbed by the development said : ” I don’t know why there were speculations that the President was going to retain Idris. He has reached the retirement age . I know that as his deputies ,all of us will go with him .If an AIG had not been appointed , then we would be thinking of whether Idris would hand over to the most senior DIG , but the issue has been settled. We are going with Idris as we will not serve under our junior “.
