IG Starts Terminal Leave

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, is expected to proceed on terminal leave any moment from now, having spent the mandatory number of years in service.

Abubakar, from Zamfara State, enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1979 and is due for retirement on July 30, 2014, based on the mandatory retirement age.

Findings indicated that the replacement for Abubakar who became the acting IG on January 25, 2012, might be announced early next month by the government.

The Federal Government had dashed Abubakar’s hope of tenure extension and he was said to have been given the hint that he would not get an extension.

Investigations showed that it was only the tenure of IG Sunday Ehindero’s tenure that was extended by one year by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

It is widely believed that an acting IG would be picked from the ranks of the Deputy Inspectors General of Police or Assistant Inspectors-General of Police.

The appointment of a new IG is usually done by the Nigeria Police Council which is chaired by the President.