Suleiman Abbas’s sack as IGP: Jonathan’s pound of flesh
By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor
Speculations have continued to trail
last Tuesday announcement of the sack of Suleiman Abba as the 17th
Inspector-General of Police in Nigeria. The sudden sack which came barely one
month to the official handover by President Goodluck Jonathan to the incoming
Buhari regime, has certainly fuelled the rumour making rounds that President
Jonathan was poised to take his pound of flesh against loyalists that allegedly
betrayed him during the just concluded elections in the country.
The first victim, Suleiman Abba, was
chosen to occupy the exalted position of number one policeman after the then
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar completed his mandatory 35
years of service in the force. MD, as he was popularly called, had the option
of either retiring gracefully or applying for an extension.
In his quest to accomplish what was
generally perceived as the good works he was doing in the force, he applied for
extension of tenure which, unfortunately, was rejected by President Jonathan,
who quickly appointed then unknown Suleiman Abba as his successor.
When the race for a new IGP was at
its peek, many tested and well known officers including Solomon Arase who was
just appointed as the Acting Police boss, were in contention. Feelers said
President Jonathan woefully ignored wise counsel to choose the much tested and
admired Arase and went for his old time friend, Abba, whom he reportedly
trusted will not rock the boat in his quest to continue in office.
To a large extent, Abba did not
initially disappoint him. He held sway unabashedly, and even had the temerity
to wade into the crisis over speakership at the House of Representative. He
posted and re-posted tested and tried officers to suit his political whims and
caprices, unknown to many.
One of his victims was the vibrant
and crime bursting former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and later the
Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Zone 2, Umaru Manko, who was
humiliated out of Lagos just because some people spread the wicked and
unfounded rumour that he was relating with APC members.
The former Police boss did not wink
an eyelid when he replaced him with AIG Mbu, a posting that raised dust all
over the country. Unfortunately, Abba did not envisage that the tide would turn
against him someday. Eventually when it did, ‘escapist’ became his second name.
Sources at the Force Headquarters
said Abba’s grand design to frustrate efforts of his benefactor – President
Jonathan – kick started with the preparation of officers and men of the force
for the onerous task of ensuring that there was a peaceful election devoid of
rigging by any of the parties. He was expected to deliver the highest level of
professionalism even when one cannot completely rule out having allegiance to
the party in power.
However, sources said that he had a
grand plan to to be firm even as some alleged he had sympathy for the
opposition party, APC. This came to the fore after reports of many under aged
Northerners being allowed to vote without restrictions by, especially, members
of the force, reached the Presidency.
There were also allegations of short
changing of members of the force that took part in the elections with regard to
their welfare as against their counterparts in other security agencies. This,
it was gathered, demoralized them to the extent that many looked the other way
even while some people were deeply involved in electoral malpractices.
Suleiman Abba reportedly crowned his
grand plan by discreetly issuing a standing directive to all top officers to
ignore orders from anywhere and obey only his while on duty. That, according to
sources, was what played out in Port-Harcourt after the presidency discovered,
to their utter chagrin, that AIG Ogunsaki who was posted to their
much-cherished Rivers State, was also firm.
Sources said efforts to effect
immediate changes were nearly thwarted after Suleiman Abba made himself
incommunicado while frantic efforts were been made to reach him. That done, it
was learnt that the Presidency kept on receiving security reports of
clandestine meetings. The whole scenario came to the limelight few weeks after
Buhari was declared the winner of the election.
President Jonathan was reportedly
shocked to his bone marrows after he saw a video recording of his own IGP
receiving the President-elect at the airport without clearance from him. To
worsen matters, he was also shown the same IGP conspicuously among those who
attended the ceremopny when General Buhari was handed his certificate of return
from INEC.
Sources said the visibly enraged
President quickly detailed his aides to ascertain if the IGP was officially
invited by INEC and it emerged later that he was not. Then the vexed issue of
Ekiti state. Even when political pundits posited that Jonathan called for peace,
he did not fail to show his displeasure on learning that the warring 18 APC
Honourable members were enjoying the services of formidable teams of mobile
policemen posted by Suleiman Abba against the interest of Governor Fayose of
the PDP.
At this stage, a flurry of security
reports flooded the presidency about Abba’s possible sympathy for APC while
those that appointed him were still in power. Spectacularly, one of the reports
detailed how Abba allegedly reached out to passionately plead his retention after
the May 29th handover date. His emissary was said to have reeled out
innumerable measures Abba embarked upon, using his office, to under cut the
ruling party to the chagrin of his spectators.
According to impeccable sources,
immediately Jonathan lost the election, Abba threw caution to the winds and
started negotiating with APC for tenure elongation. He started treating Buhari
like the President even while Jonathan was still in office.
The presidency was flooded with
complaints of his disloyalty even from other security chiefs who were piqued by
Abba’s aloofness and uncooperative attitude during the elections. In fact, his
conduct after the elections tried to expose other service chiefs as been
disloyal.
Police sources said President
Jonathan was so rattled with the ugly trend of events especially, as it
concerns Suleiman Abba, whom he reposed so much confidence in, that he decided
to use him as the first major victim of perceived disloyalty. President
Jonathan has vowed, according to sources, that this trend will continue with
any other political appointees found to have played ignoble roles against him
during the elections.
Just like one of the columnists
recently observed. “Abba’s treachery must have struck the wrong side of
Jonathan. That may explain why the man exhibited the level of swiftness that is
clearly alien to him.”
Source: Vanguard News
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