The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ibrahim Idris

  • Kidnapping: IGP deploy Special Forces to Kogi

    Kidnapping: IGP deploy Special Forces to Kogi

    The Kogi Police Command Monday disclosed that about 50 special strike force operatives have been deployed to the state by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to help curb activities of kidnappers and other criminal elements in the state.

    The state Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Yakubu Usman confirmed that the special strike force contingent arrived Lokoja on Sunday and have since been dispatched to various locations in the state.

    Kogi has recently gained notoriety as a hotbed for the abduction, with past victims including judges, government officials and political figures.

    The CP assured that the arrival of the special strike force, together with operatives of the command would bring activities of kidnappers and other criminal elements to their knees.

    He appealed to members of the public to cooperate with men of the Strike Force and the command by volunteering useful information that would enable them track down the criminal elements that have been terrorizing the state.

    He said that the command has mapped out strategies to ensure adequate security before, during and after the Salah celebration.

  • Ban on road block still in place – IGP

    Ban on road block still in place – IGP

    The acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has said road blocks remains banned.

    He said the ban on road block was a directive from the Federal Government.

    Idris also dismissed the reported sack or forced retirement of some AIGs and other senior police officers as mere speculation.

    The IGP spoke in Abuja during his maiden meeting with senior officers of the Force.

    Matters that were discussed at the meeting include – declaration of assets, withdrawal of Police Mobile Force, (PMF) personnel, restructuring of Special Anti- Robbery Squad, Counter Terrorism Unit, formation of eminent persons forum in each state command and establishment of joint operations centre in each state command.

    Others were – discipline, need to observe chain of command, turnout of personnel, welfare, sustenance of order banning roadblocks, IGPs collaboration with military and other security agencies to ensure safe return of IDPs to their communities and strengthening of security at IDP camps.

    Commenting on the ban of road blocks, Idris said: “I want to say that road blocks remain banned and it is not even a police policy, it is a directive from the federal government and we must abide by it.

    “We are going to reinforce the X-Squad and they will check corruption within the police and at various levels in the civil servants. We are going to set them up at commands and they will be used to check the illegal road blocks and I can assure you that they are going to be effective.”

     

  • IGP seeks cooperation of Prisons, Immigration services

    IGP seeks cooperation of Prisons, Immigration services

    The Ag. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris has solicited the cooperation of Nigeria Prisons Service and Nigeria Immigration Service in order to ensure a secured and peaceful country.

    The Ag. IGP also disclosed that those who attack recently under the guise of Boko Haram are not Nigerians.

    The IGP while soliciting the cooperation of both services noted that criminal elements arrange activities from prisons, hence the need for intelligence sharing.

    He made this known in Abuja Friday during a visit to the headquarters of both services.

    According to him: “there is need for us to work together in the area of criminal justice system by providing intelligence and in our Joint Operation Centres as the synergy will make Nigeria safer and more peaceful.

    “We need the coordination of security agencies and one way we can achieve that is by having Joint Operation Centre. This is where we will coordinate operation so that we are on the same page and keep all agencies abreast of what is going on.

    “We are the principal security agency but I would request that you deploy at least an officer to be in that centre in order for us to have coordination 24/7 and when we have any challenge, we will face it together in one direction,” he added.

    Continuing on the need for the collaboration, Idris said: “we need to cooperate with you a lot in gathering of intelligence because all over the world, prison services are sources of intelligence especially from criminals and from my years of experience, I know that we have some criminals that arrange criminal activities from prison to those outside.

    “So, that is why those of us who are outside and who are principal policing agents need to work together so that we can ensure that this country is peaceful and safe from criminal activities.

    Commenting on security at the borders, he said; “we need to secure the borders because the challenges in states is very numerous and security challenges are getting high.

    “if borders are secured, then the security within the country will be 50 percent solved. Nigeria has a very expansive border and the challenges we are faced with at the borders can be linked to problematic neighbours who are exporting some of the problems that we are facing in the country.

    Most of the problems we are facing including the recent Boko Haram, if you trace them, you will discover that they are not from Nigeria, they have their linkages to the neighbouring countries and that is why we need to coordinate together to be able to give proper security to this country.

    Responding, the Controller General of Nigeria Prisons Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed said: “Our relationship is a must because police have the power to arrest and prosecute and once you prosecute and it leaves court, then it comes to prison.

    He also said that he has repositioned the intelligence unit of the service and also directed his officers to share intelligence with police officers at Commands and Formations across the country.

    Also speaking, the Comptroller General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede said: “as law enforcement agencies, we are supposed to work together because if we don’t, there will be chaos.

    “Criminals excel because they work together, exchange ideas together and they also put resources together,” he added.

     

  • Can Ibrahim Idris reform the Police?

    SIR: On two occasions when I went to  police stations to seek bail for persons who had minor scuffles, I was asked by police officers on duty for money to procure ‘Izal,’ ‘Detol,’ and ’tissue paper,’ before I could see these persons.

    Aren’t the senior officers aware of this practice by their junior officers?  Do law enforcement officers work for the government and people of Nigeria or for themselves? Why do we seemingly have failure in security? Why is there a constant spike in crime and all manner of economic sabotage? I see policemen only interested in parking vehicles to extort money at check points. I hardly see or hear about police officers giving chase to robbers leading to apprehension, as happens in the movies.

    Our society can be safe only when there are effective partnerships between government and the police to fight crime in a 360 degree angle. There will be no security while state governors big-note themselves for presenting the police with vehicles to help fight crime. The vehicles cost a mere pittance of the huge security votes they collect monthly from federal allocations.

    The job of the police would be made easier if efforts are channelled correctly. For instance, a pool of informers should be set up and informers paid to report potential crimes before they fester. The state should have a Witness Protection Programme to protect whistle-blowers.

    The job of the police would be made easier if transportation for officers on duty is not restricted to sitting at the back of Hiluxes and Ford Rangers. What kind of strategy exposes law enforcement officers to danger? Have the authorities not heard of unmarked official saloon cars? And should the police go for covert assignments in a rented taxi?

    A policeman’s job would be easier when the state checkmates all those who openly denounce the Nigerian state with nefarious and self-serving intent.

    I shudder to think about the fate that might befall the policemen I see with guns only, in the middle of nowhere, without patrol vehicles when I travel on Nigerian roads. How would they escape without patrol vehicles if they are attacked by bandits?  Why does the state risk the lives of its police force in this way?

    I wonder at the kind of policing Nigeria hopes to provide when the rank and file only attend shooting ranges, buy their kits and no training is provided on democratic idealism so as to appreciate the concept of citizen rights in a democracy.

    All federal agencies should be mandated to contribute to a pool of funds to help the police, to free the over 150,000 police officers working in the homes of private citizens, because there are too few officers and too many crimes.

    What’s going on? It’s sickening to see a police patrol team more interested in pulling over a pickup van or truck carrying building materials, than giving chase and trying to apprehend robbers, car snatchers, kidnappers and child traffickers. Nigeria is drifting towards a dark and fearsome abyss.,

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt.

  • Police officers must declare their assets-Acting IG

    Police officers must declare their assets-Acting IG

    …Nigerians expect more from police -Dambazzau

    The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris has said that officers from the rank of the IGP down to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) must declare their assets.

    He also vowed to take over the streets from criminals and make the presence of the police felt everywhere.

    Idris, who spoke in Abuja yesterday during a visit to the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, seized the opportunity to further highlight his plans for the Nigeria Police Force.

    He said; “We are going to make sure that our police officers are more accountable to the people and we are going to make sure that we take over the street from criminals and ensure that our presence is felt in our cities, towns and villages.

    “We are also going to operate within the concept of Rule of Law and the Code of Conduct Law of this country and the Section 13 of the Code provides that every officer must declare their asset and I am assuring you that every police officer from my rank (IGP) to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)  must declare their asset.

    On why OFFICERS must declare their assets, he said: “Under Section 13 of the Code of Conduct law, Cap 15 in the Federal Law of Nigeria, every police officer from the IGP to the ASPs are the Commission officers and they must declare their asset.

    “I must declare my asset and every police officer must declare his asset since i am declaring mine. They are the Commission officers under our structure and it is the requirement of the Code of Conduct Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria and i don’t think a State made law for the fun of it. The essence of making law for everybody to declare his or her asset is to uphold certain rules.

    He further explained that the order is aimed at ensuring that we are morally sound and that people should have limitation in what we are doing in life.

    On if it’s the first time police officers would be made to declare their assets, Idris said; “I told you when I took over that the NPF will henceforth be governed by the Code of Conduct values and internationally recognised core values of policing. We are trying to standardize Nigeria Police Force and one of the requirement is that we must do things according to law and the law requires that every police officer must declare his asset”.

    Speaking on the fight against corruption amongst civil servants, he said: “for some time now, what people see is the EFCC and DSS but if you look at the Nigeria Police Force when we joined, the X-Squad were the covered police personnel that go after policemen and anybody because if you look at Section 4 of the Police Act, police serve the responsibility to prevent crime, to enforce; so, fighting crime is in line with our duties.

    “In line with the current administration’s fight against corruption, our X-Squad will be strengthened and we are going to give them the incentives to work and their activities will not be limited to police alone. We will go after the local government, state government and federal government employees because the constitution permits us to do that”, he added.

    Responding, the Minister of Interior said that the expectations of Nigerians from Ag. IG is very high.

    He also advised him to tackle situation in the Niger Delta, crimes which includes; kidnapping, armed robbery, rapes and also take care of the welfare and discipline of his personnel.

    The minister said: “You have quite a lot of challenges as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in this country and with the kind of internal security challenges we are having, you have a lot to do and you have to spend a lot of time and effort to deal with the situation.

    “There are situations in the Niger Delta that you need to look into and you have to tackle violent crimes and conventional crimes which includes; armed robbery, kidnapping, rape amongst others.

    Dambazzau also urged him to ensure that the discipline and welfare of officers and men of the Force is not taken for granted noting that policing duties of officers will be frustrated without discipline and welfare.

    He also advised him to get the right team and get right persons that would occupy the positions of Commissioners of Police and Zonal Assistant Inspector General because they would be the ones on the field to deal with the situation.

  • Ibrahim Idris steps in as acting IGP

    An Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police (Operations), Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, on Tuesday emerged the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP).

    Idris, who hails from Niger State, was accompanied to President Muhammadu Buhari’s office on Tuesday by the outgoing IGP, Solomon Arase, for his new rank decoration.

    He will remain in acting capacity until the Police Council confirms his appointment and ratified by the Council of State.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Arase said: “I want to formally introduce my successor, AIG Idris Kpotum. He is going to be in acting capacity until the Police Council confirms his appointment.

    “I want to seize this opportunity to thank Nigerians for the cooperation given me ‎while I served as Inspector General of Police, by extension I want to also appeal to you to give the same support that you gave to me to my successor.

    “He is a younger man. So, I am sure he will be abreast with the contemporary policing issues.”

    On his part, the acting IGP said: “Honestly by collective leadership, the Nigerian police is going to be governed by internationally recognized core values of policing ‎everywhere in the world. That is integrity and accountability, respect for diversity, compassion and ensuring that our streets, neighbourhoods and communities remain safe.”

  • Ibrahim Idris loses wife

    Ibrahim Idris loses wife

    THE former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, is bereaved. He lost his wife, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Idris, to cancer-related ailment.

    The deceased, who served as the First Lady during her husband’s tenure, was said to have been battling with health problems that kept her away from the public since 2012 when her husband quit office.

    The late Hajia Zainab, 60, was the mother of Mohammed Ibrahim Idris, the owner of Summerest Apartments in Abuja and currently a member of the House of Representatives.

  • CP advises against do-or-die politics

    CP advises against do-or-die politics

    The Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, yesterday advised politicians against “do-or-die politics.’’

    The commissioner gave the advice at an interactive session with leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the councils’ polls slated for March 22.

    He said that politicians should make decorum their watchword while playing politics, describing that as necessary for peaceful elections.

    “Politicians must avoid acts that portray them as desperate, they must avoid being selfish.’’

    Idris admonished the leadership of the two parties to enlighten their followers on the need to be orderly during the election, vowing to deal decisively with anybody or group, who might want to foment trouble.

    He said that the police had made adequate arrangements toward a peaceful election, calling for support from stakeholders toward a rancour-free poll.

     

     

    Idris cautioned politicians against using thugs to disrupt the elections, saying that he would arrest such thugs and make examples of them.

  • Mohammed Idris living large

    Mohammed Idris living large

    MOHAMMED Idris is one of the sons of the former Governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris. He is one guy who appears to have started thinking of life after his father’s stint in power. It is not news that Idris owns the popular three-star Ibro Hotels which has presence in some cities in the northern states, what many people do not know is that his son, Mohammed, is working tirelessly in keeping the business afloat and viable.

    Mohammed is also the owner of Summerest Apartments in Abuja. One thing certain about Mohammed is that he enjoys life to the hilt and is really painting Abuja with money to throw around.