APPOINTED: Abubakar – Enthusiastic resumption at the trenches
Like every new police boss, the smartly-dressed and athletic (he’s a Squash buff) police chief in Nigeria read the riot act to militant groups, armed robbers as well as all criminal elements and his men after accepting the appointment. The new Inspector-General, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar also said that his administration will declare emergency on police […]
Like every new police boss, the smartly-dressed and athletic (he’s a Squash buff) police chief in Nigeria read the riot act to militant groups, armed robbers as well as all criminal elements and his men after accepting the appointment. The new Inspector-General, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar also said that his administration will declare emergency on police training institutions as he observed that it is a major problem.
Many people view Abubakar’s assumption of office as the right move but other people say that it is not the magic wand that would suddenly put a final stop to the security challenges in the land, particularly the issue of the Boko Haram sect, continuously in headlines, racking-up death tolls as well as other criminalities.
Abubakar was born in Gusau, Zamfara State, on 5 May 1958. He enlisted as a Cadet Officer in the Nigeria Police Force on 31 July 1979. From 1991 to 1993, he read for and obtained an Advanced Diploma in Public Admininistration from Sokoto State Polytechnic, Sokoto. From 1995 to 1997, he again pursued and obtained a Diploma in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Lagos, Lagos. While on that course, he also obtained a Diploma in Disaster Management and Control from Isreal in 1996.
For his professional training, Abubakar undertook several courses in Nigeria and abroad. He also attended the Intermediate Command Course at the Police Staff College, Jos, Nigeria (1991); Senior Command Course at the Police Staff College, Jos, Nigeria (1995); General Security and Intelligence Course with the Israel Defence Force, Isreal (1996); Disater Management Course at Haifa, Israel (1996); Senior Executive Course (SEC) 27 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), in Kuru, near Jos, Nigeria (2005).
Abubakar has held command as Commissioner of Police in Plateau, Abia, Kwara, Kano and Lagos States. He was also Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. In 2008, he was promoted Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and posted to Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Lagos, comprising Lagos and Ogun States. He was also AIG Zone 5, Benin, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states. He was later posted to Zone 6, comprising Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Ebonyi states.
Abubakar’s most recent command, since 15 November 2011, was as AIG in charge of Zone 12 of the Police encompassing Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states and is a member of several professional bodies. Nigerians are watching with keen interest, anxiety and hoping the new Police chief has the magic wand to curb the insecurity threats and disasters in Nigeria. He has, after all promised to crush the biggest threat facing Nigerian security agencies today, as Nigerians watch and wait with bated breath.