The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ibrahim Coomassie

  • Coomassie: Obaseki commiserates with Katsina Govt, family

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has condoled with the government and people of Katsina State over the passing of former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, who passed on last Thursday, after a protracted illness.

    In a statement, Obaseki said that Coomassie’s death was a loss to Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum, which he chairs, as well as his family.

    “I condole with the Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari and the people of the state over the passing of former IGP, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie. The former IGP served Nigeria gallantly and worked for the progress of the country as evidenced in the various assignments he held,” he said.

    Read Also: Obaseki condemns killings of policemen in Edo

    He added that the death occurred when Nigeria needed the wisdom of her senior citizens in resolving challenges facing the country, noting that late Coomassie’s strong influence was also felt in his position as the chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum.

    He added, “We are consoled that he was a courageous Nigerian and one who worked for the good of the country.”

    Late Alhaji Coomassie until his death held the traditional title as Sardaunan Katsina.

  • Atiku mourns ex-IGP Coomassie

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described late Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, as a disciplined and upright police chief whose tenure witnessed an outstanding time in the history of the Nigeria Police Force.

    Atiku, in a condolence message by his media aide, Mr Paul Ibe, said that he and the late Coomassie shared a special bond that he (Atiku) would personally miss.

    “Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie and I had a special bond of friendship. He shall be sorely missed,” Atiku said.

    According to him, Coomassie was a patriot and an exceptional police officer whose dream was always about making the Nigeria Police Force an effective and efficient police force.

    “My condolences go to his family and others in our cycle of friendships. I pray that God accepts his good deeds and forgive his shortcomings,” the former vice president said. (NAN)

  • IG mourns Coomassie

    The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Ibrahim Idris, has commiserate with the family of late Ibrahim Coomassie, a former Inspector-General of Police.

    The Force Public Relations’ Officer, Acting DCP Jimoh Moshood, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said Commassie died on Thursday at the age of 76 at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Katsina after a brief illness.

    Moshood said the deceased enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as Cadet Inspector on May 11, 1964 and was trained at the Police College Ikeja.

    Read Also: Ex-IGP, Ibrahim Coomassie is dead

    “He served as the 9th Indigenous I-G between 1993 and 1999.

    “He will be buried according to Islamic rites after the Friday prayers at his residence, no. 1 Ibrahim Commassie, GRA, Katsina.

    “The I-G commiserates with his family, the good people and Government of the Kastina state and our dear nation Nigeria on this great loss,’’ he said.

    Coomassie was the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum before his death.

  • Ibrahim Coomassie’s far-fetched logic

    Ibrahim Coomassie’s far-fetched logic

    THE Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ibrahim Coomassie, is at liberty to support President Muhammadu Buhari as avidly as he likes, and as he has always done since the president assumed office. What he is not at liberty to do is to erect scarecrows all over the country to underscore that support. In an interview last week with the Vanguard newspaper, he enthusiastically sought to fit those he described as the president’s enemies in one frame.

    Said he: “He (President) wanted to fight corruption. When he became President, he wanted to fight two things, namely insecurity in the North East area and corruption. There is nobody that has not been touched by his anti-corruption posture  former ministers, governor, serving chiefs to the Judiciary. Everybody has tasted Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade in this country. Unfortunately, all his efforts have not been seen in good light; instead they say you fight corruption, corruption fights you back. This is what is happening to him. The enemies of this nation, people who are so selfish and greedy want to incapacitate President Buhari by all means and that is what is happening today in Nigeria. Enemies of change are too many and are too strong, the reason things are almost going back to square one. Buhari, if given the chance, will perform miracle…”

    Mr Coomassie speaks almost as if he does not expect the president to have any opposition at all, and as if those against whom corruption has been alleged would not naturally do their best, if not even their worst, to avoid jail. It is fawning adulation such as this that has seemed to encourage the president and his immediate aides, including surprisingly his media aides, to expect the president to be treated deferentially, questioned in hushed tones when he exceeds himself, hides facts from the public, and ignores the constitution, and to be spoken to concerning the duties he shirks as one would speak to a god, regardless of his prejudices, frailties and weaknesses.

    It is necessary to remind Mr. Coomassie and others who think like him that there will always be those who like the president and those who don’t, an opposition determined to portray him in bad light, as indeed the president himself did while in opposition — all in an attempt to ensure he does not win the next election — and criminals and deviants who despite being caught red-handed would attempt to procure justice, undermine society and transfer aggression. If a president cannot deploy legal and constitutional provisions to tackle these issues, some of them admittedly anomalous, then he should begin to ask whether he understands democracy at all, and whether he has not taken the wrong job.

  • Nigerians in high spirit to vote – Coomassie

    The former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, has said that Northern delegates to the conference were not party to calls for the postponement of the forthcoming elections, saying Nigerians were in high spirit to vote.

    In a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja, Coomassie also dissociated the Northern delegates from statements credited to some former delegates that the conference recommended the shift in the date of the elections.

    According to him, the conference never at any time during its sitting discussed poll postponement either during plenary or during discussions at committee levels.

    The statement reads: “It has been brought to the attention of the Northern Delegates to the 2014 National Conference which took place from March 17 to August 20, 2014 that the conference recommended the postponement or shifting of the 2015 general election as being canvassed by some delegates in a recent press statement.

    “As a distinguished delegate to the conference and also Chairman of the Northern Delegates Forum, I wish to categorically state that postponement of the the 2015 general election was never discussed either at plenary or committee sessions throughout the duration of the conference. No mention was even made during the debate on some of the recommendations of the committees at plenary.

    “It is therefore strange and unbecoming of some delegates to come out now at the end of the conference on 20th August 2014 with the submission of conference report to Mr. President, claiming that the conference endorsed the postponement of 2015 general election. This is certainly not the position of the 2014 conference, but the opinion of the canvassers who want to hide under the 2014 National Conference.

    “The Northern Delegates to the 2014 National Conference wish to disassociate themselves from this illegal statement made by some delegates who are bent on misrepresenting the good work done by the 2014 National Conference.

    “It is on record that the Conference submitted its report to Mr. President on August 21 and thereafter the President declared the conference closed. This act technically disbanded the conference, therefore delegates cannot come in any form to deliberate or issue statement on behalf of the conference.”

     

  • Buhari is our candidate – North

    Buhari is our candidate – North

    Following the ratification of President Goodluck Jonathan‘s candidature by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the North has resolved to adopt the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) as its consensus candidate for 2015.

    Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) on Friday said the North had resolved to support a northern candidate and since APC has fielded a candidate from the region, they have no alternative than to support him.

    They said, “President Jonathan shouldn’t be in the contest in the first place if the principle of zoning that was created by his party and the constitution is respected. He shouldn’t be a candidate by now.”

    The Chairman of ACF, Ibrahim Coomasie, a former Inspector General of Police, said, “First of all, the APC presidential primary and the PDP convention have clearly shown those who are ready to practice democracy. The APC’s primary was held smoothly without any rancour and all of them have come out to accept the result. That is a good omen for our democracy. I hope INEC will emulate that.

    “So, we are congratulating Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who has been winning primaries all through. Only when it comes to the general elections, he is always rigged out. We have also seen what happened in the other party.

    “I am the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and we have said it before and we are reiterating it that, we are going to support a northern candidate. And since APC has voted a northern candidate, we are going to support him 100 per cent. So, Buhari is our candidate for the 2015 election.”

    He, however, said if Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, had won the APC primary, they would still have supported him because he was born and brought up in the North and has shown interest in the development of Nigeria and the region in particular.