Posted by MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja on
Alarmed by the on-going gale of reshufflements in the Nigeria Police since the coming of the Acting Inspector General of police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, the presidency has ordered the police high command to stay action on further re-postings.
Alarmed by the on-going gale of reshufflements in the Nigeria Police since the coming of the Acting Inspector General of police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, the presidency has ordered the police high command to stay action on further re-postings.
With some key officers at the police headquarters relieved of their positions barely 24 hours after Ehindero assumed duty as the number one cop and several others pencilled for redeployment, the presidency has reportedly intervened and directed the police high command to retain a list of senior officers in their present positions.
The development came even as most officers relieved of their positions are yet to be redeployed and are left "floating" at the force headquarters in Abuja,fuelling confusion, fear and speculations especially among the officer cadre.
Daily Sun gathered that in the presidency's list of officers not to be redeployed, are the commissioner of Police in Charge of Federal Operations, Mr. Lawrence Alobi; the FCT Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, and the officer in charge of operations at the FCT command,Alhaji Ibrahim Danjuma.
While Adebayo and Danjuma had been reportedly slated for redeployment, Alobi, believed to be in the good books of the presidency for his display of professional dexterity in national and continental operations, was pulled out of his office last week and replaced with Mr. John Ahmadu, a Commissioner of Police.
Dependable police sources said Alobi's swift removal did not go down well with the presidency which promptly intervened and ordered his return, along with some other officers in their present positions.
Consequently, Daily Sun learnt that the Acting IGP has cancelled the signal on Alobi's redeployment three days after it was issued, and returned him to his office, just as moves for the posting of all the officers in the presidecncy's list have been reportedly put on hold.
"When reports started filtering into the presidency on the speed and manner of redeployments by the acting IGP, the issues raised were thoroughly scrutinized. Some of the reports painted the picture of a jihad presently going on at the police force headquarters, and the presidency had no choice than to step in and look at the issues on merit", a presidency source said Tuesday in Abuja.
Among the key officers at the force headqurters who have been relieved of their positions in the past few weeks before the presidential directive, but are yet to be redeployed, are DCP Chris Olakpe, ACP Solomon Arase, ACP (Dr.) Adegoke, and ACP Ahmed Yusuf who, until recently, held sway as FPRO, PSO to IGP, O/c police clinic, and O/c IGP monitoring unit, respectively.
Interestingly, when contacted on the issue, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ighodalo denied knowledge of the postings, but quickly added that it is routine. "I am not aware of the redeployments you are talking about, but if it is true, they are just routine. I don't know about these postings that caused the presidency to intervene", he told Daily Sun Tuesday, in Abuja.