President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday decorated Mr Mohammed Abubakar Adamu as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Adamu, who was Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP), took over from Mr. Ibrahim Kpotu Idris, who retired from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) after attaining 35 years of service.
His appointment would be ratified by the National Police Council and the Council of State.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents after he was decorated by the President, the new IGP said he would evolve new strategies on addressing issues of kidnapping and other security challenges.
On the forthcoming elections, the new IGP said the police would be neutral in discharging their constitutional duties with regards to the conduct of the election.
“I want to thank Mr. President for considering me worthy to be the next Inspector General of Police. We know that there are security challenges that we need to tackle in the country. Issues of kidnapping, abduction and other security challenges. From the strategies put in place by the former IGP, we will restrategize and make sure that we tackle these challenges squarely.
“On the elections, you have heard from the former IGP, adequate arrangement has been made to make sure that free and fair and credible elections take place in Nigeria. We are going to build up on the strategies put in place to make sure that we have hitch-free elections in the country.
“We are professionals. We are going to stick by the rules, we are going to do the right thing. We will not go outside the ethics of our job to do things that are untoward, everybody will be given level playing ground to play his or her politics,” he said.
The Acting IGP hails from Lafia, Nasarawa state, and holds of a BSc in Geography. He enlisted into the Force on February 1, 1986.
He attended several senior officer courses on law enforcement, crime prevention, control and management within and outside the country.
Before his appointment as the Acting Inspector General of Police, he was a Directing Staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau state.
He was Commissioner of Police in Ekiti and Enugu states and also Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 5 Police Command Headquarters, Benin, Edo state.
