President Muhammadu Buhari has decorated Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, with a new rank of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in acting capacity.
The new acting IGP, who is from Niger, was accompanied to President Muhammadu Buhari’s office by the outgoing IGP, Solomon Arase.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the decoration, Idris assured Nigerians that under his leadership, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) would be governed by internationally recognised core values of policing.
According to him, his tenure will ensure strict compliance to issues of integrity, accountability and respect for diversity in the society.
“Obviously under our collective leadership, the Nigerian Police Force is going to be governed by internationally recognised core values of policing everywhere in the world.
“That is the issue of integrity and accountability, issue of respect for diversity, issue of compassion, issues of ensuring that our streets, our neighbourhoods, our communities remain safe.
“And we are going to do everything possible to ensure that we provide the best service for this country.”
Also speaking to the correspondents, Arase thanked Nigerians for their support and cooperation and urged them to extend the same to the incoming acting IGP.
Buhari had earlier approved Idris’ appointment as Acting IGP.
The president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the acting Inspector-General, who hails from Kutigi, Lavun, Niger State, was born on January 15, 1959.
Idris was enlisted into the Nigerian Police in 1984, after graduating from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a Bachelors degree in Agriculture.
He also holds a degree in Law from the University of Maiduguri.
Idris has served in various commands and formations in the Nigerian Police, working in the Police Mobile Force for 17 years as Unit Commander, Squadron Commander, and Commandant.
He served as Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa and Kano states and was also the Commissioner of Police in charge of Police Mobile Force at the Force Headquarters.
He was also at the United Nations Mission in Liberia and East Timor and was awarded “Medal of Merit” by the President of the Republic of East Timor in recognition of his service.
The statement said that Idris, who was in charge of Operations at the Force Headquarters before his appointment as the acting IGP, will act in that capacity pending his confirmation.
Meanwhile, some security experts on Tuesday described the appointment as commendable and a welcome development.
They said in Lagos that he would be a square peg in a square hole in his new appointment based on his local and international experiences.
The experts that included retired senior police officers said that Idris had all it takes to excel in his new job.
Mr David Omojola, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG, described Idris as a reliable, honest and dependable officer.
Omojola, who served as the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone-1 Kano, while Idris was a Commissioner in Kano State, said that the new acting I-G would not only deliver but would move the force to the next level.
“He is articulate, organised and has passion for the job. He has never been a push-over,” Omojola said.
Also, Mr Ibezimako Aghanraya, a retired Commissioner of Police (CP), urged the new acing I-G to ensure that all officers and men in the force wear same uniform.
According to Aghanraya, when you see five policemen, they will be wearing five different uniforms under one organisation.
“You cannot ask a Nigerian child to describe the colour of the uniform of the Nigeria Police Force and he or she will be able to do so. In other nations, it is not so.
“The new I-G should also upgrade the curriculum of the police colleges. He should recruit new lecturers and trainers with modern security knowledge into the schools.
“He should also remove all anti-terrorist policemen from the roads. The road is not meant for them.
“Anti-terrorist policemen should be in their training camp, preparing to be deployed for operations against terrorists any time,” Aghanraya said.
Another retired Police Commissioner (CP), Mr Fulani Kwajafa, said that Idris was both an action and an experienced police officer, stressing that there was no doubt in his appointment.
“He is disciplined, creative; no doubt that he is a sound material for the job. He will continue from where Arase stopped.
“We have high expectations from him. All Nigerians are expecting much from him on security situation in the country,” he said.
For Mr Folorunso Attah, a security expert, the performances and experiences of Idris at the UN operations would be added advantages for him to do well as the new police boss.
“His appointment did not come as a surprise,” Attah noted.
A former Chairman of Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), Mr Christopher Oji, said that Idris, as an operational officer at various levels, would have less problems in heading the force.
Oji called on him to make the welfare, particularly, accommodation and capacity building of officers and men, part of his priorities.
Idris would formally take-over from Arase on Wednesday at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The force spokesperson, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, stressed that details about the acting IGP would be released then to the public.
