New police Chief

Thursday appointed Suleiman Abba as acting
Inspector General of Police.
This was confirmed by presidential spokesperson,
Reuben Abati, via his twitter handle.
“New IGP Abba replaces IGP Abubakar who
proceeds on statutory retirement. IGP Abba’s
appointment is with effect from August 1, 2014,” Mr.
Abati said.
Mr. Abati later tweeted to say Mr. Abba’s
appointment is in acting capacity.
The  appointment followed the retirement of his
predecessor, Mohammed Abubakar, who retires
after 35 years of public service.
Mr. Abubakar’s tenure as police chief would be
remembered for the official removal of road blocks
which police officers used in extorting motorists.
Mr. Abubakar on resumption of duty in 2012 ordered
that all road blocks across Nigeria be dismantled,
although some were still (illegally) maintained.
The new acting police chief, Mr. Abba, was until his
appointment an Assistant Inspector General, AIG, in
charge of Zone 7 command, a position he occupied
since May 25, 2012.
He was also a former Aide-De-Camp, ADC, to the
wife of a former military Head of State, Maryam
Abacha.
On Tuesday, speculations thickened  that Mr. Abba,
a lawyer and historian, had been selected by Mr.
Jonathan and the Police Council, which consists of
governors of the 36 states and the Chairman of the
Police Service Commission, Mike Okiro.
Some people had argued that appointing Mr. Abba
as IGP would raise concerns because he is from
the same zone as his predecessor.
Mr. Abba, 55, is from Gwaram local government
area of Jigawa State while the retired IG is from
Gusau local government area of Zamfara state. Both
states are located within the North-West
geopolitical zone.
The new acting  IG was born on March 22, 1959 and
has degrees in History and Law.
He enlisted in the Nigerian police as cadet inspector
on December 31, 1984 and is due for retirement on
March 22, 2019.
He was promoted AIG on February 22, 2012.
Positions previously held by him in the Police
include Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge
of the Criminal Investigation Department, FCT
Command, Deputy Force Secretary and
Commissioner of Police, Rivers State.
His appointment is with effect from Friday, August
1, 2014
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been updated to
indicate that Mr. Abba’s appointment is in acting
capacity following an update provided by
presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati.