ABUJA, Nigeria — The police denied reports that President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered Inspector General Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar to take compulsory retirement leave, saying he remained in office and had received no formal notice of his departure.
The denial came in a statement issued by Force Public Relations Officer Frank Mba on Thursday, May 15, 2014, following several days of reports that Abubakar had been directed to relinquish his position.
Mba, a chief superintendent of police, said the police leadership had received no communication from the federal government concerning Abubakar’s retirement.
“The Police High Command is not in receipt of any official communication from appropriate government quarters informing the IGP of his inevitable glorious retirement from the force,” Mba said.
He added that Abubakar had been at his desk that day and was continuing to discharge his responsibilities as inspector general.
Reports of the alleged presidential directive had circulated since Tuesday, raising questions about whether Abubakar would leave office before completing his mandatory period of service.
According to the reports, Jonathan had ordered the inspector general to proceed on compulsory leave because of worsening insecurity in the country.
A purported letter conveying the directive was said to have been transmitted through Anyim Pius Anyim, the secretary to the government of the federation.
The reports said Abubakar had been instructed to hand over to Suleiman Fakai, the deputy inspector general of police responsible for finance and administration.
The police statement did not confirm the existence of the reported letter.
Abubakar was expected to complete his mandatory period of service by the end of July 2014, according to Vanguard’s reporting.
The newspaper reported that a decision on his departure would depend on the relevant government authorities, including the Police Council, which was headed by Jonathan.
Mba’s statement maintained that Abubakar continued to serve as Nigeria’s 16th indigenous inspector general of police.
