Tag Archives: SULEIMAN ABBA

My predecessors left with 22 police vehicles, says Arase.

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Solomon Arase, former inspector-general of police (IGP), has revealed that Mohammed Abubakar and Suleiman Abba, his predecessors, took 22 vehicles of the force away at the end of their service.

According to PUNCH, Arase said this in response to the claim of Ibrahim Idris, the incumbent IGP, that he took 24 vehicles while retiring.

Back in July, Idris had said Arase illegally took away 24 vehicles, and that he had written to him to return them to avoid sanction.

Arase had denied doing so, and in turn accused his successor of vilifying him.

But in a letter dated December 1, Arase advised Idris to avoid engaging in acts that could bring any past occupant of that office to public ridicule.

Arase pointed out that in his time, he ensured that Force Order 295 was put in place to protect ex-IGs from being demeaned.

He said it was in the spirit of this order that he desisted from ridiculing the last two IGs before him even though he knew that they each went away with 13 and nine police vehicles respectively when leaving office.

Arase said rather than denigrate Abba, who he succeeded, he indeed initiated actions and bought a brand new bulletproof jeep for the sacked IG despite the fact that Abba’s administration left a debt of N28bn for him to contend with.

He urged Idris to put the integrity and honour of the Nigeria Police Force first in any action he might want to take so that the force would not be exposed to public ridicule.

“I expect that former occupants of the office of the Inspector-General of Police should not be demeaned. This explains why Force Order 295 was emplaced by the force management under my leadership as acknowledged in your letter in reference,” he wrote.

“In spite of the emplacement of this order and despite the fact that my two immediate predecessors left office with 13 and nine vehicles of different makes and models respectively, I never pressurised either of them to return any of such vehicles neither did I engage in any act that was capable of bringing them to ridicule as being done to me of late by a force I dedicated my life to serving up to the highest level.

“Rather, it is on record that I went the extra mile to source for funds and initiated actions towards purchasing a brand new bulletproof jeep for my immediate predecessor, even after his retirement from service. This was done notwithstanding the fact that I inherited and had to manage a huge debt profile of about N28bn, which limited the financial base of the force at the time.”

Abubakar retired in 2014, while former President Goodluck Jonathan sacked Abba in April 2015.

Sacked IGP Suleiman Abba Very Angry; Refused To Handover Officially

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There was confusion at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday as the sacked Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, stalled the formal handover to his successor, Solomon Arase, until he was compelled to do so by order from above by the Presidency.

In fact, many former Inspectors-General of Police have expressed reservations over the manner Abba, a fine officer, was removed from office just because President Goodluck Jonathan was defeated.

The handover ceremony which was slated for 8am with invitations sent to journalists for coverage from the office of the Force Public Relations Officer, did not take place until almost 4pm.

According to Abba’s aides, when they visited his official residence at Maitama, he said he was yet to receive any official letter informing him to hand over and he heard the news of his sack on radio and television just like other Nigerians.


Abba was said to have removed all his personal belongings before leaving the office around 11.20pm after he heard the announcement of his sack in the media on Tuesday.

Reporters who converged in their numbers early in the morning for the handover, were disappointed as they were not allowed access to Force Headquarters. No reasons, according to sources, were given for the delay in the handing over ceremony.

3 DIGs protest appointment of Arase
Meanwhile, uncertainty continued to pervade Force Headquarters after it was reliably gathered that three of the serving Deputy Inspectors-General of Police were holding an emergency secret meeting in one of the offices on the 6th floor of the headquarters building.

Feelers from the meeting indicated that they resolved to protest the appointment of their contemporary, Arase, DIG Intelligence, as acting Police boss on the grounds that they were all promoted same day on February 20, 2014.

The three DIGs were also said to have sworn to contest the appointment of Arase to the highest level because they were not well treated by his appointment. While tension generated by the ugly development threw Force Headquarters into confusion, other top officers were seen in different moods.

Many of them stood in groups discussing the development in hushed tones.

The Many Sins Of Former IGP, Suleiman Abba

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President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday sacked Nigeria’s 17th indigenous Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba. Mr. Abba was sacked barely 24 hours after the government of the United States of America commended him for good conduct during the just-concluded general elections.

He was immediately replaced by Solomon Arase, a Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department. “Mr. Arase holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law, as well as Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Strategic Studies.

Before being relieved of his office, Mr. Abba had in various ways abused his powers as provided for in the 1999 Constitution. For instance, on October 30, 2014, Mr. Abba had ordered the withdrawal of police aides attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, a day after he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

While defending the action, the embattled IGP, who is also a lawyer, said Mr. Tambuwal’s action breached Section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution and that the lawmaker was therefore no longer entitled to police security.

Mr. Abba made the claim in a statement signed by Emmanuel Ojukwu, the force public relations officer. But Mr. Tambuwal, also a lawyer, insisted that the former IGP’s explanation was inaccurate and misleading.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Patience Jonathan’s Role In The Sack of Police IG Exposed

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Police chief Suleiman Abba has lost his job, becoming the first major casualty of Goodluck Jonathan’s loss in the just concluded presidential elections. He has since been replaced by Solomon Arase.

The Nation, in a report last Saturday, has revealed that Jonathan was under pressure to give Abba the boot – for alleged security and protocol breaches.

Credible sources in the presidency have disclosed that First Lady Patience Jonathan played a pivotal role in the events leading to the sack of IGP Abba.

Abba, The Nation learnt, had earlier been summoned by the President to defend himself against allegations by some PDP leaders and security chiefs regarding his role in the March 28 and April 11 elections.

Abba got the push because he rebuffed a presidential directive to make some “strategic moves” that would have favoured the ruling party in the two elections, the sources said.

One of them specifically mentioned Abba’s reluctance to redeploy the Assistant Inspector General in charge of Zone 6 Tunde Ogunsakin, from Rivers State to Cross River on the eve of the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly elections.

The aim, it was gathered, was to enable the ruling party perfect what was described as its ectoral heist in some states in the Southsouth.

A source said when it became apparent that Abba was “using delay tactics” in carrying out the order, the First Lady, who was with some of her aides in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, instead of Bayelsa State where the President had gone to vote, called Dr. Jonathan demanded an immediate implementation of the directive, it was said.

Miffed by what she considered to be an affront, said the source, the First Lady said Abba would regret his tardiness.

Said the source: “I can categorically tell you that Abba would have saved his job but for what happened on the eve of the governorship election when we were in Port Harcourt.Could you believe that despite an initial signal from the authorities that Ogunsakin should be moved to Calabar, Abba was playing games with the directives? He was apparently not in the mood to comply. The President had to call him directly before the order was carried out, following a complaint made to him by the First Lady.

“I am also aware that the authorities are not happy with his conduct during the presidential election, especially his seeming closeness to the president-elect and his presence at presentation of Certificate of Return to Gen. Buhari in Abuja.

“He would have been allowed to stay on till the inauguration of the new government but for ignoring the wishes of the wife of the President.”

Jonathan is said to be demanding loyalty from all Service Chiefs until he leaves office on May 29.
Source – The nation

Why Jonathan Fired IGP, Suleiman Abba

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The inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, yesterday, became the first major casualty of the just concluded general elections, which President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost to the opposition.

The police officer, who was elevated to the post only last year, incurred the wrath of the Presidency on the eve of the governorship and House of Assembly elections for allegedly arguing with the government officials over the directive to recall the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunshakin, from Rivers State.

Abba, it was learnt, had deployed Ogunshakin from his base in Calabar to Port Harcourt to oversee the governorship election in Rivers State following complaints by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, that the police had collaborated with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP to intimidate APC members and rig the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

His refusal to pick calls over Ogunshakin’s recall

Another source said the former police boss reportedly ignored presidency official’s objection to the deployment of Ogunshakin to Rivers State on the allegation that the police officer was sympathetic to Amaechi and his party and would, therefore, not allow the PDP win the state.

A Presidency source told Vanguard that on learning that the IG had defied its order by redeploying Ogunshakin to Rivers State to supervise the governorship elections. A presidency official called the former police boss to recall the AIG with immediate effect from Rivers State or face the consequences.

The source said the presidency felt slighted when it could not get through to Abba.

The former police boss reportedly told the Presidency that AIG Ogunshakin was a formidable Police officer whom he described as a ‘no-nonsense officer’ feared and respected in the Police Force hierarchy and capable of ensuring law and order in the place of new assignment.

Vanguard learnt that although the sacked IG reluctantly recalled Ogunshakin from Rivers State, forcing him to quit Port Harcourt by 5 am on the election day, Presidency did not forgive Abba for redeploying Ogunshakin reluctantly.

Presence at Buhari’s certificate of return presentation

Another sin of the former IG was his presence at the presentation of the Certificate of Return to Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre on April 1, 2015, which convinced the Presidency that the IG was actually working for the opposition and it moved quickly against him.

Read More: vanguardngr

Meet Nigeria’s New Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase

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Solomon Arase, the new Acting Inspector General of Police,  was, until his appointment, the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department,

The apex intelligence gathering arm of the Nigerian police,  the Force CID is the only arm of the police that provides Intelligence on Crime and National Security.

Mr. Arase enlisted into the Nigerian Police in 1981 after graduating from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1980, with a degree in Political Science.

A lawyer, Mr. Arase also has a Bachelor of Law degree and Masters of Law from the University of Benin and University of Lagos respectively.

He attended the Nigerian Law school and was called to the bar in 2000.

He also has a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan.

Mr. Arase has served in various commands and formations of the Nigerian police, including being the Commissioner of Police for Akwa Ibom State.

He was also an Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Bureau.

He served at the United Nations Mission in Namibia and is a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence College.

Source – Premium times Ng

Jonathan Sacks IGP Suleiman Abba, Appoints DIG Solomon Arase

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President Jonathan sacks IGP Suleiman Abba, appoints DIG Solomon Arase as Acting IGP with immediate effect, according to a tweet by Dr. Reuben Abati, the spokesperson of the president.

AbatiIGP Suleiman Abba, NPM, NPOM, mni was the 17th Indigenous Inspector-General of Police  and was appointed by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. He formally took over on August 1, 2014 formally from former Police boss, IGP MD Abubakar (Rtd) who had successfully piloted the affairs of the Force from 25th January, 2012 when he was appointed to July 31, 2014, having completed 35 years of service.

Abba Suleiman hails from Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State holds degrees in History and Law and has attended several management and security courses within and outside Nigeria. He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.

He is known for his vast experience in criminal investigation, intelligence-led policing and crime-fighting operations.

Source – Vanguard Ngr

Aggrieved Policemen To Begin Strike On March 28th, The Proposed Day of Elections

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Policemen who are being owed promotion arrears have said they would embark on strike on March 28, 2015, the day the Presidential election would hold. According to them, this will help them press home their demand and convince the police authorities that they are serious about their threat to down tool.

The police personnel said that over 100 of their colleagues retired in 2014 without being paid the promotion arrears and other benefits, adding that the payment had been pending for over two years.

The men who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, expressed fears that their benefits may not be paid as promised by the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba.

The officers faulted the statement credited to the IG that the police could not pay duty tour
allowances and other benefits because of the shortfall in allocation to the Force by the Federal Government.

Abba had stated in a document on the 2015 Budget Defence presented to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs last week that the 2014 police budget which suffered a shortfall of N6,464673,537 made it impossible to successfully conclude the payment of personnel emolument in 2014.

The policemen said that those that were being owed numbered about 15,000, adding that from the information available to them, nothing was being done by the police authorities to address their grievance.

“The only way we could make the IG pay us our salary arrears and other benefits is to embark on strike on Election Day when the nation would need us the most. Otherwise, the issue would be swept under the carpet, like others.

“Over 100 policemen have retired without being paid the arrears and some of us would retire this month or next. This means that we may not get the money before leaving service,” the men complained.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, had earlier assured that the aggrieved policemen would be paid as soon as the Force received money from the Federal Government.

“We are working hard to pay the men and I can assure you that they would be paid once the government pays us; we are waiting for the government to pay us, so we can pay them. The welfare of officers and men of the Force is of paramount importance to the IG and he would do everything necessary to ensure their welfare,” he stated.

Source: Punch

Mr Suleiman Abba Warns Officers Against Acts Of Indiscipline

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The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, on Thursday warned the inspectorate, rank and file cadre in the police that the force would no longer condone any act of indiscipline.

Abba, in a statement issued by Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu the force spokesman, warned that those caught in the act would be punished internally and made to face the wrath of the law.

He said his attention had been drawn to a communiqué published in one of the national dailies on Wednesday, “listing some grievances of policemen’’.

The I-G said he had directed Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Command Commissioners of Police to monitor the activities of officers and men of the force.

He however, called on junior officers “to remain resolute in pursuit of their statutory duties’’ and assured them that they would get their welfare and entitlement as at when due.

He said the problems confronting the force were being addressed, warning that they should distance themselves from any act that could jeopardise public peace or the nation’s democracy.

Abba assured all personnel that efforts were being made by the management team to address challenges in the force and improve welfare including promotions, courses, issuance of uniforms, among others.

He acknowledged their commitment to duties and professionalism at providing safety and securing the nation, as well as sacrifices being made daily by officers.

– Source – www.vanguardngr.com