More evidence of the culture of impunity in the President Muhammadu Buhari government was displayed by the President’s henchmen in the emergence of new Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the on-going recruitment of 10,000 policemen across the nation.

Usually reliable Presidency source told Political Economist that contrary to the public perception and in clear violation of the constitutional powers of the Police Service Commission, PSC, the whole process that produced  IGP Idris was initiated and manipulated by the President’s office rather than the statutory agency, the PSC,  whose duty it is to make such recommendation for the position of IGP as well as the methodology to be adopted in the course of recruitment of 10,000 cops of different rank categories.

Our source disclosed that the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, was the arrowhead in the script to retire 21 AIGs just to pave way for IGP Idris. The source insisted that Mr. Kyari and a few others around Mr. President hijacked the powers of the PSC both in the emergence of IGP Idris and the mode of recruitment of constables into the police force.

In the order of recruitment, 12 Assistant Superintendents (ASPs) would be recruited from each state while those of the Inspector cadre would be 20 per state. Using this formula, would help achieve equity and fairness in the recruitment, the source said.

However, when it came to the recruitment of constables, Kyari and his clique in the President’s office changed the formula from per state to per local government. “We were shocked when the President’s men proposed 10 constables per local government rather than equal number of recruits per state. This was obviously to short-change states from the south with fewer number of local government areas. “What this means is that a state like Kano will have more constables while a state like Bayelsa with much fewer local governments will have far less constables recruited into the police. This formula is strange; it does not reflect federal character or justice in any way. It is a clear attempt to favour a particular part of the country”, the source said.

The Presidency source said the Chief of Staff to the President singled out IGP Idris, a far junior Assistant Inspector General of Police knowing full well that his appointment would mean compulsory retirement of 21 senior AIGs, some of them with far more outstanding qualities that IGP Idris. The PSC was merely used to rubber-stamp the ‘initiative’ of one man rather than allowing the Commission recognized by the constitution to do its work. The Chief of Staff is said to be one of the closest aides to the President and he is said to enjoy the listening ears of Mr. Buhari.

At the end, 21 Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) were retired. Those affected were all senior to the acting Inspector General of Police before his appointment.

Photo: Abba Kyari, right, with Mr. President