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Contrary to the fears of leading opposition parties and civil societies on chances of security challenges marring the upcoming general elections, the new Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has allayed the fears.
In his first address to the press shortly after his decoration at State House, Abuja, he said “We are professionals. We are going to stick by the rules. We are going to do the right thing. We will not go outside the ethics of our job to do things that are untoward. Everybody will be given a level-playing ground to play his or her politics”.
“Adequate arrangement has been made to make sure that free and fair and credible elections take place in Nigeria. We are going to build up on the strategies put in place, to make sure that we have a hitch-free exercise.”
Business Hilights had on Tuesday broken the news of his appointment and decoration by President Muhammadu Buhari amidst rising rancor that any attempt by government to allow former IGP, Ibrahim Idris to remain till election will suggest a sinister move by the presidency to use him in doing some bad jobs that will skew election results to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after all.
IGP Adamu had replaced Ibrahim Idris whose tenure ended yesterday having crossed the mandatory thresholds of 35 years in service and 60 years of age.
Details show that the new police boss, who is from Lafia, Nasarawa State, and holds a BSc in Geography, will serve in acting capacity pending a confirmation. He enlisted into the Force February 1, 1986 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police.
Before his appointment as acting Inspector General of Police, he was the head of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.
He was Commissioner of Police in Ekiti and Enugu States and also Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 5 Police Command Headquarters, Benin, Edo.
Already, civil societies and opposition parties have rolled out agenda, saying Nigerians will no longer allow the commando-styled arrest and detention key opposition figure usually at the eve of critical elections as was done under the watch of former IGP in the states that recently held governorship elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asked Adamu to learn a lesson from “the shameful end of Idris by immediately setting up the process of re-orientating and insulating the Force from partisan politics, while subjecting it to the tenets of democracy and the rule of law.”
The party averred that the new IGP “must urgently take steps to address the bastardisation of promotion in the police under the last IGP where officers due for promotion were denied and only those endorsed by a cabal or who have enough money to buy their way through were promoted. This is in addition to immediately setting up a process that guarantees proper welfare of officers and men of the Nigeria police.”
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP urged the officer to “avoid the pitfalls of the last IGP, who has gone down in history as the most corrupt, devious and reckless police officer to hold the post.” It further advised him to remove all templates of election rigging contained in the handover note that would be presented to him by Idris.
PDP further claimed that former IGP Idris would be remembered as “the only IGP in our political history who surrendered the responsibilities of his exalted office to the whims and caprices of politicians who share courtesies with the Buhari Presidency. He defied the need to secure troubled areas and watched carelessly while an integral part of our nation was engulfed in bloody clashes.”
“Idris will be remembered as that police officer that had a penchant for framing innocent Nigerians with ridiculous allegations. Throughout his inglorious tenure, he functioned as the commander of the militant wing of the APC, just to retain his office and remain in power.”
In his response at a rally in Osogbo, Osun State, PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus urged Adamu to avoid the errors of Idris who “served the All Progressives Congress (APC) cabal and not the Nigeria Police or the Nigerian people.”
Besides, the Coalition of Political Parties (CUPP), also urged Adamu to release all political detainees especially Senator Dino Melaye and activist, Deji Adeyanju.
CUPP spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the coalition “and many other Nigerians welcome the end of the controversial IGP’s tenure as a major victory for our democracy. We therefore urge the incoming IGP to see his appointment as a service to the nation and to all Nigerians, irrespective of political and religious affiliations.”