Some retired police officers and security experts have called on the new Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba, to urgently tackle insurgency, terrorism and attacks on police formations.
They made the call on Wednesday in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Mr Chris Ezike, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said he had known Mr. Usman Baba for a while, describing him as a very articulate man, highly cerebral and friendly.
“I was CP Edo when he was CP Delta and we had cause to plan and execute joint operations together. I do not have any doubts that he will give the job his best shot. I wish him all the best.
“Uppermost shall be for him to stem the tide in the coordinated attacks and assaults against Police personnel and assets.
“This must be done by him in the immediate in order to restore public confidence and re- energise the police force,” Ezike said.
Also, Mr. Ibe Agharaya, another retired Commissioner of Police, said Baba should ensure the Police Force is equipped with logistics, and technical aids for crime prevention and detection.
He also called for an increase in well trained manpower, stressing that without the facilities and trained manpower; nothing changes with regards to insecurity.
“If there were a high definition CCTV camera that was recording events happening in the dark at the Police headquarters in Owerri, it will have been easy for the police to track and arrest for prosecution the criminal elements that attacked the station.
“Arrest and prosecution of criminals serve as deterrents to others and reduce crime rates in the society,” he said.
A security expert, Mr Folorunsho Attah, described the new police boss as one not influenced by corruption.
” He is a professional policeman to the core,” Attah noted.
The security expert said that the greatest security challenges confronting us are insurgency and terrorism.
“So, let’s see what this expert in various areas has as a panacea. Baba as a Fellow of the Defence College, International War College and a member of the International Association of Police, is indeed a seasoned officer.
“He had attended various courses on investigations, traffic management, insurgency and counter– terrorism. He has gone round the nation,” he said.
Another retired Commissioner of Police, Mr Olayinka Balogun, described the choice of Baba as the acting Inspector General of Police as the best transition in the Force in a long while.
According to Balogun, “Baba is a natural pick. He was the most senior DIG. No need to promote him over anybody. No grudging of any kind. He is naturally qualified.
“The first of its kind in many years. His ascendancy will not create undue premature mass retirement for any group of officers now or later, except those who will retire naturally on the account of age or length of service basis.”
NAN reports that Usman Baba who clocked 58 years on March 1, 2021, hails from Geidam in Yobe State.
In 1980, he received a Teachers’ Grade II Certificate from the Teachers’ College, Potiskum, in Yobe.
He studied Political Science at the Bayero University, Kano, graduating in 1985, before proceeding to the University of Maiduguri where he received a Masters Degree in Public Administration in 1997.
He was a member of course 22/2014 at the National Defence College.
Baba enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on March 15, 1988, rising to different ranks where he occupied various positions at different police formations across the country.
He is a fellow of the International War College and a member of the International Association of Police.
