With now less than 30 days to the February 25 presidential election, Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba has redeployed the commissioners of Police in charge of Lagos and Ogun States command.
It was gathered that the circular for the redeployment signed on behalf of the IGP by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Force Secretary, Hafiz Inuwa, has already been released.
According to the circular, former Force Public Relations Officer, Emeka Frank Mba, from Enugu State will be the new Commissioner of Police in Ogun State to replace the current CP Lanre Bankole, while Idowu Owohunwa from Kogi State will replace the CP of Lagos, Abiodun Alabi.
Changing Commissioners of Police close to or on the eve of major elections is not new in Nigeria but it is not clear why the CP in Lagos and Ogun are being redeployed and what their new roles will be.
It is, however, surprising that Owohunwa, the Principal Staff Officer to IG with no operational experience as Area Commander or District Police Officer, is being posted to a state like Lagos at a critical time like election time.
The signal by the Force Secretary also didn’t say where the police bosses in Lagos and Ogun will be moved to, whether they are being taken to other states or being recalled to force headquarters in Abuja.
