Mr Hafiz Ringim, Inspector General of Police
VANGUARD
December 31, 2011
By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja
AFTERMATH of the Xmas day Boko Haram bombings and signals emanating from Aso Rock indicating that security chiefs would be changed by early next year as well as the impending retirement of the Inspector General of Police in February after 35 years in service, the Deputy Inspectors General of Police at force headquarters and some Assistant Inspectors General of Police have embarked on fight to finish moves towards getting the nod to succeed, Mr. Hafiz Abubakar Ringim.
Towards this end, Saturday Vanguard gathered that the DIGs and some AIGs have employed the services of Islamic marabouts from as far as Sudan and Niger for special sacrifices and prayers while the non-Muslims among them have recruited prayer warriors to embark on fasting and continuous intercession on their behalf.
Aside the resort to marabouts and prayer warriors towards getting the exalted position of the IGP when Mr. Ringim retires, many of the senior officers are said to have been trying to curry the favour of those perceived as power brokers including emirs and traditional rulers, some members of the economic team and politicians believed to be close to President Jonathan.
A Police source said that there are underground whispers in the force that the death of DIG Ganiyu Daudu, DIG in charge, Force Criminal Investigations Department, at a hotel in Lagos this month, may not be unconnected to these desperate moves by some of those officers to become the next IGP.
It was further gathered that as a result of the lobbying and underground moves which is distracting the senior Police officers concentrating on their job, the Inspector General of Police is experiencing a tough time having to put his DIGs in line of challenges of security facing the nation.
Consequently, it was against this backdrop that Ringim recently directed the deployment of the Deputy Inspectors General of Police to the six zones of the country to oversee security operations of these zones especially following increase in wave of Boko Haram attacks, kidnapping, bank robberies
