BY ENANI BENSON
IGP ABBA AND HIS 8-POINT POLICING AGENDA
President Jonathan approved the appointment of the then Assistant Inspector of Police in charge of Zone 7, AIG Suleiman Abba, as acting Inspector General of Police. His appointment followed the retirement of IGP Mohamed Abubakar, who attained the statutory age of 35 years in the service of the Police Force on July 31. Thus, IGP Abba becomes the 17th IGP in the country. Our Crime Correspondence ENANI BENSON attended the exchange of baton ceremony from ex-IGP Abubakar to Ag. IGP Abba on August 1, 2014. His report….
In his maiden speech, IGP Abba promised to intensify the fight against crime and upgrade the standards of policing. In doing so, IGP Abba assured the people that in consonance with President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, he would develop and implement constructive policing strategies for the maintenance of a stable democracy and economic growth.
Consequently, he unfolded an 8-point agenda:
“My team will ensure that policing becomes truly intelligence-led; Law enforcement and crime prevention initiatives are integrated and supportive of each other; police service delivery and maximum impact are achieved with least inconvenience to the people. The Nigeria Police Force focuses on priorities, and that resources are diligently managed and equitably distributed in terms of these priorities; Community policing partnerships and relationships are built with communities become an integral component of our policing approach.
“The Nigeria Police Force is realigned, through restructuring, development and delegation of powers to ensure efficient implementation of public safety policies; effective policing in target areas is made sustainable and that capacity development is sustained so that we do not engage in “fire fighting exercises”; and senior police officers are held accountable for their actions and inactions, by means of performance contracts and indicators with clear deliverables which will be closely monitored”.
Humbled by His Appointment
IGP Abba, who hails from Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State, could not hide his delight at his appointment. He told the gathering of top policing officers both retiring and servicing officers and the media that he was humbled by his appointment.
He said: “I’m both excited and humbled by this privilege to serve this outstanding and distinguished organization and our country, Nigeria. I want to thank the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, and the people of Nigeria for the confidence reposed in me, and for the opportunity to become an active participant and leader in the fight against crime in our great country”.
Historian, Lawyer
Abba, a historian and lawyer, by virtue of training, said he has served the Nigeria Police Force for almost 30 years, and that he had gained valuable insight and experience to appreciate the challenges the Police and the country are facing.
“It is based on these experiences that I intend to formulate a vision and strategy for leading force to its prime. My experience teaches me that policing has changed and is still changing. Policing is no more about arresting, investigating and prosecution only. The responsibility of the Police in a democracy transcends these traditional roles to expectations in ensuring a stable democracy conducive to goes governance; creating an enable environment for economic development and providing acceptable basic services delivery for the people of our country”.
He said his leadership would be self-searching, and that he will continually aspire to keep the country safe by working with, for and through the communities.
“The recent upsurge in security challenges will have my full attention. I am committed to addressing these issues and reaffirm the high standards of performance for which the Nigeria Police is nationally and internationally acclaimed. Let me state that I am committed to the creation of a safe and secure environment for all the people of Nigeria, by leading the Nigeria Police force in engineering and participating in endeavors to address the root causes of crime in Nigeria; preventing actions that threaten the safety and security of Nigeria; and conducting diligent criminal investigation to ensure criminals are always brought to justice”.
To build partnership in curbing terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes and criminalities, IGP Abba early last week paid courtesy visits on the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, the Chief of Army, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, at the Defence headquarters, Abuja pledging to support military operatives in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the country.
The IGP equally paid a courtesy call on the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed. The new police chief said he is committed to strengthening inter-agency collaboration in the ongoing war against violent crimes and insurgency.
IGP ABBA WITH SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS, DJ. DOMA AND SOLOMON ARASE
IGP SULEIMAN ABBA
CATERER NABBED FOR SMUGGLING MARIJUANA TO PRISONERS.
A 35-years-old caterer, Oyinyechi Ezirim, is cooling off his heels in detention facility of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Lagos over an attempt to smuggle cannabis hidden inside noodles to her inmate boyfriend in Kirikiri prison.
According to a statement made available to journalists by the spokesperson of the National Drug law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, at the weekend, the suspect was arrested by officials of the prison during a routine examination of food items brought for inmates.
The Lagos State Commander of NDLEA, Mr. Aliyu Sule, said the suspect, who had been handed over to the authorities, would soon be charged to court.
Sule said: “The suspect in her statement said that her detained boyfriend directed her to a woman to collect two cartons of noodles.
“The compressed dried weeds concealed inside noodles tested positive for cannabis and weighed 4.1kg. She wil soon be charged to court.”
Ezirim, a graduate of Imo School of Catering, said, “I used to do noodles for my boyfriend who has been in prisons custody for one year. He promised to marry me. Last week he told me that a former inmate promised to send him two cartons of noodles.
“He asked me to contact the man on phone. When I did, the man referred me to his wife who gave me the noodles. Unfortunately, when I got to the prison 20 packs of the noodles were found to contain hemp. That was how I found myself here”.
NDLEA Chairman Ahmadu Giade while commending the prison authorities said that the case would be thoroughly investigated.
