The embattled Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, may in few weeks be forced out of the police force as President Muhammadu Buhari is believed to have ordered discreet screening of top police officers for his possible replacement.
INDEPENDENT investigations reveal that the president is worried over allegations against Ibrahim Idris.
Prominent among them are allegations of corruption levelled against him by Senator Isah Hamman Misau, some serving police officers, as well as some lawyers.
In addition, he is being accused of being sectional in the discharge of his national duty.
Some of the petitions are said to have been forwarded to President Buhari and to the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Monday, last week, INDEPENDENT reported that the EFCC was already acting on some of the petitions discreetly.
A reliable source at the anti-graft agency hinted to INDEPENDENT that “though the presidency is yet to officially refer the case to us, we are already investigating the allegations based on petitions already with us.”
One of the allegations was that one Barrister Emma, a civilian who lives in Onigbongbo area of Lagos, was dreaded at the Force Headquarters, as he was said to wield so much power and had unrestrained access to the IGP’s office on 7th floor.
He was also accused of influencing posting of mobile police squadron commanders after they parted with N10 million.
Posting of squadron commanders is the prerogative of the IGP.
One other allegation was that Idris frustrated an investigation into a $1 million case.
It was reported that the IGP had called a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) who headed the investigation team at Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) to step down further investigation into the $1 million case.
But the DCP told the IGP to send a signal as evidence for his defence in case he is later queried over the matter.
The IGP reportedly got angry and viewed the request of the DCP as an affront, and consequently redeployed him to Police College, Kano.
INDEPENDENT further learnt that based on the track record of the DCP, the Presidential Committee on Recovery of Public Property requested the IGP to deploy the DCP and other officers to the committee.
The IGP was said to have refused to deploy the DCP to the committee but rather deployed younger officers.
A top official of the committee who is also an adviser to President Buhari, explained to INDEPENDENT, in his Abuja office, that “we actually wrote to the IGP to release some officers to us, and he did not decline.”
The official would not want to comment on whether the category of officers requested for were released.
“We have no issue on the category of officers released; all I know is that the IGP did not decline to our letter.
“Apart from the police, we also wrote to other agencies, like the EFCC.”
An Aso Rock source told INDEPENDENT that the allegations of corruption against the IGP were embarrassing.
“They are quite embarrassing to the government and grievous in nature, although the facts are yet to be established,” he said.
Apart from the allegations of corruption, Idris is being accused of being a sectional IGP.
For instance, the Zaria crisis in Kaduna State, where Muslim fanatics slaughtered Christians in churches without the police arresting and prosecuting the culprits is believed to be one of the reasons for his possible sack.
Another reason adduced for his sack, is his inability to arrest and prosecute any of the Arewa youths who had given a quit notice to the Igbos living in the North to leave by October 1.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was acting president at that time, was said to have viewed Idris’s failure as a deliberate attempt to ignite ethnic crisis.
Apart from that, the IGP and the VP were said to have had a face-off over the aide-de-camp (ADC) to the VP, Superintendent of Police (SP)
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