A retired commissioner of police, Alhaji Abubakat Tsav, has opposed calls on the Federal Government to appoint a civilian as the inspector general of police.
Tsav, in an interview with our correspondent, said he would lead a public demonstration against such a policy if any government yielded to such pressures and decided to appoint a civilian as the overall boss of the police.
The former Lagos State commissioner of police argued that appointing a civilian as the IGP would not only amount to unprofessionalism but also capable of eroding the integrity of the force as one of the core arms constitutionally empowered to provide internal security in the country.
Tsav’s was reacting to the recent clamour by a section of the society for the appointment of a civilian as the IGP with a view to saving a productive generation of senior police officers being retired prematurely whenever the number one position in the force is vacant.
The recent appointment of the incumbent Acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had led to the retirement of no fewer than 31 Senior Police Officers by the presidency.
Tsav, however, observed that it would also be a taboo to appoint a civilian IGP, adding, “A serving police officer has the experience and rudiments of the job and is best suited for appointment as IGP than an outsider who would not have necessarily keyed into the culture and philosophy that go with such a sensitive appointment”.
He further argued that a serving police officer would have been on the job and would know about the beat, post, parade, and every other thing about policing than an outsider.
The former police commissioner, however, warned that he would not hesitate to bring like-minds in the society together to stage a civil disobedience if any government toyed with such an idea.
“People may argue that it works in other climes but they should not forget that environments differ. And I do not want to say that, If they want to further destroy the police, let them bring in an outsider as IGP, then, we [like minds] shall lead a demonstration against the government.”
On the appointment of the new acting IGP, Tsav said, “He would make his own mark. Let us give him the support. Nigeria belongs to all of us. It is our country and we must do everything legally possible, and within our means, to defend it.”
