by Kolapo Olapoju

President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase as the Acting Inspector-General of Police, with immediate effect.

The appointment was announced by Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, on Tuesday, April 21.

Here are 5 things you should know about him:

1. In 2013, while inaugurating the Zone ‘5’ Intelligence Bureau Ultra modern office complex in Benin, Arase said: “Not every police officer can be an intelligence officer. After we carried out assessment test on the officers on ground, we discovered that a lot of them have to go. Intelligence is knowledge-based. If you don’t have the knowledge, you can’t be an intelligence officer.”

 

2. Until his appointment as Mr. Abba’s replacement, Mr. Arase was the Head of the Force Criminal at the Intelligence Bureau of the Nigeria Police Force

 

3. Solomon Arase holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law, as well as Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Strategic Studies.

 

4. The new Inspector-General of Police is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence College.

 

5.  Arase has contributed several scholarly articles and essays to various local and international publications. He has participated in several workshops at the USA Harvard kennedy School’s Programme on Criminal Justice. He was on the editorial board of ‘Nigeria Police: the journey so far’; was the editor of ‘Monograph on Criminal Investigation’ and co-edited ‘Policing Nigeria in the 21st century’.