NEWS > 06 April 2008

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Stanley Yakubu Leadership (Abu
06 April 2008

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Nigeria: Uneasy Calm in the Po

There was palpable anxiety and uneasy calm at the Louis Edet House, the corporate headequarters of the Nigeria Police, Abuja, yesterday following the sudden retirement of Deputy Inspector-general of Police (DIG) Kieran Dudari.

The anxiety, LEADERSHIP Sunday can authoritatively reveal, followed what many police officers described as ethnic cleansing in the police by IGP Mike Okiro. The shot is allegedly targeted at senior police officers who come from the Northern minority tribes .

Dudari, who hails from Adamawa State, was, until his appointment as deputy inspector-general, the assistant inspector-general in charge of Zone 7, Abuja. He had earlier served as assistant inspector-general in charge of Zone 1, Kano. At various times he was the commissioner of police in charge, Nigerian Ports Authority, Apapa; and deputy commissioner of police and later commissioner of police, Rivers State Command.

He was expected to retire in 2009, but his "untimely" retirement by the IGP has irked a section of the police force, especially the middle cadre who say they respect him for his professionalism and contributions to the force.

It was the retired senior officer who wrote in support of increase in the police's salary. Since then, many policemen have not hidden their love for him. And, as a sign of solidarity, they are threatening a showdown over his retirement.

Sources at the force headquarters say they are angered by the fact that Dudari is being potrayed as a cheat following a report attributed to the IGP: that Dudari falsified the date he was enlisted into the force.

A source who did not want his name mentioned told LEADERSHIP Sunday that, for all his contribution to the force, Dudari deserves respect, adding that the actions of the IGP can only demoralise police officers.

Sir Okiro had told a national daily that Dudari's retirement followed due process, claiming he falsified the date he was enlisted into the force. This has not gone down well with a majority of the middle cadre in the force who say they suspect something fishy.

Worried by the claim by the IGP, a group of police officers, under the aegis of "Concerned Police Officers", yesterday in a statement vowed to make things difficult for the police high command if Dudari's case is not treated according to the rules and regulations of the police.

"We know this is blackmail and an attempt to rubbish his integrity; we would not accept that. We urge the president, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, to look into this case and do something about it. Such an action is not good for the police's image," the statement added.

Meanwhile, a group known as Adamawa State Elders yesterday expressed shock and concern over the retirement of the former DIG whom they described as a "reliable representative."

A spokesmen for the forum, Alhaji Barkido Adamu, and Mr. Joseph Maidamisa who stormed Leadership's office in Abuja to express their dismay, wondered why their son was suddenly retired without notice as if he has committed any offence.

"We are aware that our son, the DIG, was preparing to retire from active service by May 2009, a time when he would have put in the statutory 35 years in service. And we were already preparing to give him a befitting welcome-back-home reception.

"We believe that our son must have fallen victim to the hi-tech intrigues and politics in the police. We also know, as a matter of fact, that there were strong rumours in the last few weeks that the incumbent was going to be retired and he (the retired DIG) was likely going to act before a substantive IGP would be appointed.

"We suspect that Okiro must have heard of this story and therefore decided to act fast and remove the man he considers a threat to him," Alhaji Adamu asserted.

Worried by this development, the Adamawa Elders Forum has appealed to President Yar'Adua to intervene in this case and recall DIG Dudari to complete his service which is just a year away.

The forum specifically stated that the manner the retirement of such a very senior police officer was announced by the secretary of the force smacks of suspicion; "there is more to it than meets the eye".

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Further investigations by LEADERSHIP Sunday showed that the actual entry date of the retired DIG into the force remains 1976 contrary to what Okiro alleged: that he (Dudari) changed his entry date three times.

Besides, a senior police officer who volunteered comments to LEADERSHIP Sunday but did no want his name in print summed up the feelings of most police officers at the force headquarters: "It is most unfortunate that the police authorities could conspire to throw out from the force such a gentleman officer who has stood against vices in the police. They hate him because he stood for us that are oppressed, he stood for good policing, now they have removed him. God shall judge them," he stated.

An aide to the ousted DIG, who also preferred anonymity, cried out aloud: "They frame him up and blackmail him and now they are saying that he wrote a letter to change his retirement date when, in actual sense, the IGP advised him to do so."

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Article sourced from

Stanley Yakubu Leadership (Abu06 April 2008

Nigeria: Uneasy Calm in the Po

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Stanley Yakubu Leadership (Abu
06 April 2008