Nigeria’s New Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Usman Alkali Baba (left) and his outgoing counterpart, Mr Mohammed Adamu
Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari who is in faraway United Kingdom (UK) on medical reasons has appointed a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, as the acting Inspector-General of Police with immediate effect.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday. Baba is taking over from Mr Mohammed Adamu, whose tenure Buhari extended for three months on February 4, 2021. Although the extension of his appointment raised dust across the country given the fact that he had med his mandatory 35 years in the service, Buhari did not bulge.
But with only about two months out of the three-month extension, Buhari who is in the UK for medical checkup when doctors in Nigeria are on strike has also decided to appoint Baba whom we understand has just about two years left in the service.
Before his appointment, Baba was the head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID). He has attended several professional courses/workshops to add to his numerous years of experience to the service of the police force in the country.
The Yobe born Police Officer was the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Zone-5 Benin, Zone-4 Makurdi, Zone-7 Abuja, Commissioner of Police FCT and Delta Commands amongst others.
He held the position of the Ag. DIG in-charge of Finance and Administration, he also served as the Force Secretary before. He was born in 1963. He is a graduate of Bayero University, Kano, and the University of Maiduguri, UNIMAID. He has Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA) and BA (ED) in Political Science.
He joined the Nigerian Police Force in March 1988. He started receiving a promotion from the rank of ASP till he became the Commissioner of Police in 2013. He attended all the compulsory courses he supposed to attend, and he also attended extra courses like investigation, insurgency and counterterrorism, including traffic management.
He is a member of the International Association of Police, and fellow of the International War College. He is a fellow of the National Defence College and a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
