Former inspector general of police Solomon Arase reported to have taken 24 cars with him

FORMER inspector general of police (IGP) Solomon Arase is under investigation for carting away as many as 24 vehicles belonging to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) when he retired from the service last month.

 

On June 21, Mr Arase retired from the NPF having reached the mandatory age of 60 and has been replaced with Ibrahim Idris, who is still serving in an acting capacity pending confirmation by the Police Service Commission. However, it has emerged many vehicles parked at the NPF headquarters disappeared when he left.

 

Mr Idris alleged that from preliminary investigations, Mr Arase alone took 24 vehicles, while some of the retired deputy inspector-generals of police (DIG) also went away with quite a few. He said the police had already written to Mr Arase and others to return the vehicles they took, as the former IGP was entitled to only four vehicles.

 

One source close to Mr Arase, said however, that the former IGP did not go away with 24 vehicles, describing him as the embodiment of a professional officer who will not stoop so low to confiscate operational equipment which he fought for. He added that Mr Arase sought this equipment for the police so would not convert the vehicles into personal use.

 

“In this era of anti-corruption crusade which Mr Arase fought in all ramifications, how can the same Arase now turn around to soil his integrity built over the years with operational vehicles? This act of mischief may be connected with a plot to discredit the former IGP for the tough stance he took both administratively and sticking to the rule of law and fairness in the manner he ran the police force during his tenure," the source added.

 

However, Mr Idris said: “A week before I was announced, when you look through my office window, you could see so many cars but they all disappeared when I came in. ‘What I did was to assign a directive to the Special Investigative Unit, for them to investigate all vehicles’ purchases and donations to the police in the last three years.

 

“When I took over, there were no vehicles and I discovered that the last IG went away with 24 vehicles, including two BMWs.  The DIGs took seven, others eight and they left me with an old vehicle."

 

He added that the last time he accompanied President Buhari to an engagement, the president asked him what he was doing with that kind of vehicle. According to Mr Idris, the headlight has changed colour, showing it was parked for long inside the rain. 

 

In addition, Mr Idris disclosed that the force had concluded plans to investigate the irregularities in promotion, assuring policemen that due diligence would be done. He said he could feel the pains of those who felt marginalised by the promotion, recalling that he spent five years as a commissioner of police, while some of his juniors were promoted above him.