Leadership / Nigeria: In line with his resolve to restore sanity to the Nigeria Police Force, the acting inspector-general of police, Ibrahim Idris, has directed every officer from the rank of inspector-general of police to assistant superintendent of police (ASP) to declare their assets henceforth.
Ag. IGP Idris, who stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Interior yesterday, explained that his call for declaration of asset was aimed at bringing about integrity and accountability in the police force.
“Under Section 13 of the Code of Conduct Law, Caption 15 of the Federal Laws of Nigeria, every police officer from the inspector-general of police to the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) must declare their assets. I must declare my asset and since I am doing that, every police officer should do the same.
“The Code of Conduct Law is aimed at ensuring that we are morally sound. I stated that Nigeria police will henceforth be governed by the core values of policing. We are trying to re-strategise the police force. That means we must do things according to law, and the law requires that every police officer must declare their assets,” Idris stated.
He also declared his resolve to remove criminals from the streets of Nigeria, adding that Nigerians will soon feel the presence of the police force in their communities.
“The present Nigeria Police will be guided by the internationally recognised core practices of policing, and these core practices lay emphasis on integrity and accountability.
“I assure you that we are going to raise the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force. We are going to make sure that the police force is more accountable to the people. I will make sure that we will take over the streets from the criminals. Our presence will be felt in towns and villages,” he said.
In his response, the minister of interior, Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), promised the support of the ministry to the acting IGP, and called on him to carry everyone along in the discharge of his duties.
The minister further advised that discipline and the welfare of the police officers should not be taken for granted, just as he noted that placing the right people in positions will help to create an effective and efficient police force.
On the issue of insurgency and the situation in the Niger Delta, the minister called on the new police boss to ensure collaboration with other security agencies to ensure that the peace building efforts in the northeast is all-inclusive, in addition to calming the situation in the Niger Delta.
Presidency: Why PMB Retained Arase As IGP
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday explained that Solomon Arase’s intellect and capacity as an operations man saved him from being removed as the inspector-general of police despite the fact that the former police boss had been appointed by the last administration.
The president disclosed this in Lagos at a public presentation of a book entitled, “Cascade of Change,” written by Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde.
The president was represented by his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, at the event, which was also attended by Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; former Ogun State governor, Chief Segun Osoba; Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, and the crème-de-la crème of the nation’s media industry.
Quoting President Buhari on why he retained Arase till the end of his tenure, Adesina said: “The president said he saw the quality of Arase’s mind and the quality of things he had written. You know, Arase has many publications to his credit. And he also saw his capacity as an operations person and he decided to keep him till his tenure expired.”
He stated Buhari, who made the comment during a farewell dinner organised for the former police boss by the president, appreciates people of sound mind and intellect.
According to him, Buhari during the dinner remarked that Arase had remained fearful all through his tenure that he would be sacked before completing his term.
The presidential aide quoted Arase as saying, at the dinner, that it was very strange for him to have been invited for a farewell dinner in his honour at the State House, as the recent practice was for police chief executives to learn of their removal from the media.
“While he (Arase) was speaking at the dinner, he told the president that it was very strange for him to have been invited for a farewell dinner, because what we know in Nigeria is that people are sacked on pages of newspapers.
“Arase also had the fear that since he was inherited by Buhari’s administration, he was not sure that he would be retained; so every day, he had the trepidation that he would hear that he had been removed.”
The Lagos State governor, in his address, noted that the book was a compilation of the thoughts of a prolific writer and social commentator who got caught in the “wind of change” in a defining era of governance and politics in the country.
