Retirement Looms for Seven DIGs, Three AIGs as Adamu Becomes IG

About 10 senior officers, comprising seven Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIG) and three Assistant Generals of Police (AIG), will be forcefully retired with the promotion of Mohammed Abubakar Adamu as the 20th indigenous Inspector General of Police (IG). 

While its statutory that all seven DIGs will be retired given the order of seniority to the IG, three AIGs were also affected for the same reason. 

The seven DIGs include DIG Maigari A. Dikko who is in charge of the Department of Administration and Finance; DIG Joshak Habila of the Department of Operations; DIG Oshodi-Glover Agboola of the Department of Logistics and Supply, and DIG Peace Ibekwe-Abdallah of the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department. 

Others include DIG Muhammad Musa Katsina of the Department of Research and Planning, and DIG Emmanuel Tom Inyang of the Department of Information and Communication Technology. 

On the other hand, the three AIGs affected have been identified as AIG Usman Tili Abubakar, who is in charge of Maritime;  AIG Usman Yakubu, who is in charge of Zone 10, Sokoto; and AIG 

Abdulmajid Ali, who is in charge of the Eastern Ports. 

While Idris promotion as the 19th IG on March 21, 2016, was contentious given that 21 senior officers were retired in fell swoop, that of Adamu will only claim 10. 

On the looming retirement, a senior police officer who spoke on anonymity said: "It is a tradition in the service. If a junior officer is promoted to head the service, his entire seniors ‘must’ retire. 

"This process is built on the principle of discipline where order comes from the top and ranking is taken very seriously. This also manifests on personnel of the same rank whose pecking order is according to seniority."

It was gathered that coupled with huge backlash the IG's continued stay in office caused, the hard questions on Arise TV exclusive interview with President Muhammadu Buhari was the final nail on Idris' retirement.

During the viral interview, THISDAY's Editorial Board Chairman, Segun Adeniyi, had queried the IG's continued stay in office, alluding to the fact that Buhari might be scared of firing him. 

This question it was gathered had ruffled the president's predisposition to retaining the IG till after the forthcoming February general elections. 

To Adeniyi's question Buhari had retorted thus: "I have accepted responsibility. I do not think I am afraid of him. I will take action." 

The most affected by the looming retirement is the recently promoted DIGs, who were elevated on October 31, 2018. 

Particularly worrisome is the fact that with the retirement in the works for Abdallah, who is presently the only female DIG, there will no female in police top management position. 

In the AIG cadre, the police had Hilda Ibifuro Harrison and Dorothy Gimba, heading the Zone 4, Makurdi and Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos, respectively, before Harrison's retirement on January 1, 2019. 

According to a senior police officer who spoke on anonymity, the blame should be put on the number of women who enlist to join the police.