Nigeria's inspector general of police, Suleiman Abba, was fired Tuesday. Pictured: Abba leaves the venue of the investigative hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs on the invasion of the National Assembly by the police in Abuja on Nov. 20, 2014. Getty Images
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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has fired the country’s inspector general of police, Suleiman Abba, three weeks after Jonathan lost the national election in the country's recently concluded polls. The outgoing president terminated the official's job Tuesday and named Abba’s deputy, Solomon Arase, the acting head of Nigeria’s police force, Jonathan’s spokesman Reuben Abati said. The political move has raised eyebrows, as Jonathan has only six weeks left in office.
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.
DIG Solomon Arase replaces Suleiman Abba as Inspector General of Police
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 to 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.
Abati did not give a reason for Abba’s immediate dismissal. Some speculated Abba was fired because the police chief did not deliver results favorable to Jonathan and his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) during the general elections.
“The timing of [Abba’s] sacking, especially a few weeks after a general election in which Jonathan lost, is food for thought,” Debo Adeniran of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders lobby group told Agence France-Presse. “It is even more intriguing because Abba still has some 10 years to go before retirement.”
Earlier this week, Jonathan denied spending 2 trillion Nigerian naira (more than $10 billion) to win votes for the PDP during elections. A Nigerian newspaper accused the outgoing president of handing out the cash to PDP members, government officials and close aides in an effort to influence outcomes at the polls. Some officials allegedly used the cash to buy expensive cars and other luxury items rather than use it to bribe voters and groups.
Abba has a less than flawless record as the head of police under Jonathan’s administration. He has been the center of several controversies since the outgoing president appointed him in November. Abba refused to recognize Aminu Tambuwal as the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives following Tambuwal’s decision last year to defect from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposition party. Last month, Abba clashed with the head of Nigeria’s election body, Attahiru Jega, over the police chief demanding voters return to their homes after casting ballots on election days.
“In his short tenure at the head of the Nigerian police force, Abba has been a lightning rod for criticism that he politicized his office,” said Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. “I am not so much surprised by the acting inspector general of police being sacked as his being sacked by the outgoing President Jonathan. It was only a matter of time before [he] was removed.”
Supporters of president-elect Muhammadu Buhari have called for Nigeria’s newly elected ruler to fire Abba as soon as he takes office, which made Jonathan’s decision to sack the police chief a surprise move. “If President Jonathan has removed a divisive figure ahead of the transition and spared his successor of the onus of beginning his term with what might be viewed as punitive measures, the incumbent head of state should be applauded for statesmanlike behavior and helping make the handover process that much smoother,” Pham wrote in an email Tuesday.
Buhari of the APC will be sworn in May 29. The opposition party was largely successful in the recently concluded general elections, with its candidates winning the presidency, the senatorial majority and the majority of governorship seats in Nigeria’s 36 states. Buhari defeated incumbent Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election by a couple million votes by ibtimes.
“The timing of [Abba’s] sacking, especially a few weeks after a general election in which Jonathan lost, is food for thought,” Debo Adeniran of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders lobby group told Agence France-Presse. “It is even more intriguing because Abba still has some 10 years to go before retirement.”
Earlier this week, Jonathan denied spending 2 trillion Nigerian naira (more than $10 billion) to win votes for the PDP during elections. A Nigerian newspaper accused the outgoing president of handing out the cash to PDP members, government officials and close aides in an effort to influence outcomes at the polls. Some officials allegedly used the cash to buy expensive cars and other luxury items rather than use it to bribe voters and groups.
Abba has a less than flawless record as the head of police under Jonathan’s administration. He has been the center of several controversies since the outgoing president appointed him in November. Abba refused to recognize Aminu Tambuwal as the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives following Tambuwal’s decision last year to defect from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) opposition party. Last month, Abba clashed with the head of Nigeria’s election body, Attahiru Jega, over the police chief demanding voters return to their homes after casting ballots on election days.
“In his short tenure at the head of the Nigerian police force, Abba has been a lightning rod for criticism that he politicized his office,” said Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. “I am not so much surprised by the acting inspector general of police being sacked as his being sacked by the outgoing President Jonathan. It was only a matter of time before [he] was removed.”
Supporters of president-elect Muhammadu Buhari have called for Nigeria’s newly elected ruler to fire Abba as soon as he takes office, which made Jonathan’s decision to sack the police chief a surprise move. “If President Jonathan has removed a divisive figure ahead of the transition and spared his successor of the onus of beginning his term with what might be viewed as punitive measures, the incumbent head of state should be applauded for statesmanlike behavior and helping make the handover process that much smoother,” Pham wrote in an email Tuesday.
Buhari of the APC will be sworn in May 29. The opposition party was largely successful in the recently concluded general elections, with its candidates winning the presidency, the senatorial majority and the majority of governorship seats in Nigeria’s 36 states. Buhari defeated incumbent Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election by a couple million votes by ibtimes.
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