Senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Isa Misau on Wednesday alleged that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris gave two Sports Utility Vehicles to the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari.

Misau said this when he appeared before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Investigation of Various Allegations Levelled Against the Police.

Background:

• Senator Misau had accused Ibrahim Idris of collecting bribe from organisations where policemen were deployed to provide security.
• He also alleged that police officers pay millions of naira to the IGP for special promotions.
• He later alleged that the IGP impregnated some policewomen and promoted them.

What Misau said:

The Senator said details of how Idris gave Mrs. Buhari the two SUV were contained in the documents the police boss submitted to court in the suit instituted against him.

He said, “I still have some contract papers that the IG himself submitted to the court, where the First Lady through her aide-de-camp requested a Toyota Hiace and a Sienna jeep. The same day that the ADC wrote, the IG minuted that she should be given two jeeps. And it is not part of the appropriation. If you look at the appropriation, there is nowhere they said the First Lady should be given two jeeps.”

When asked to clarify which “First Lady”, Misau said,  “The letter came from the ADC to the wife of the President. The most unfortunate thing is that even in the letter, the ADC wrote that they wanted the vehicles for her private engagements; they wrote that they wanted Sienna and Hiace and the IG said they should be given two jeeps. And he supplied the document to the court.”

He also alleged that the current Acting Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, was posted to Lagos State because he  was a classmate to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

He said, “There is a lot of favouritism in the promotion and appointment of Commissioners of Police. Junior Deputy Commissioners of Police are given Commissioner of Police on acting capacity as against seniority and merit, thereby blocking eligible candidates.

“A recent example is the present CP Lagos, who is a junior DCP to two other DCPs, but was given Acting CP and posted to Lagos. These acts of favouritism have eroded discipline in the force, which is the backbone of any successful organisation.

“The reason why they took him to Lagos was because he is a friend to the Governor of Lagos State because they were in school together or because they studied a course together.”

Misau also claimed that the retirement date of the Inspector-General has been manipulated.

“The expected date of retirement of the IGP was fraudulently doctored on the Staff List of Senior Police Officers from 3rd January to 15th January, 2019,” he said.

Misau added, “I have a copy of the Staff List of when he became IG and I have another one of when he was an Assistant Commissioner of Police, which show that the dates are different.”

He further accused the Police boss of awarding contracts worth over N2bn to a   Peugeot car dealer to acquire Toyota cars.

He said, “In the papers the IG submitted to the court, I saw one Kaura Motors. Kaura Motors deals in Peugeot cars but the same day he was given two contracts: one of them is N1.2bn, the other one is about N1.5bn, to supply Toyota vehicles. How can you give a contract to somebody who is a dealer in Peugeot to supply Toyota?”

The Senator added that Idris had earlier been indicted for alleged diversion of funds by the House of Representatives.

He said, “The IGP is alleged to have diverted the funds provided under the 2016 Appropriations Act for the acquisition of Armoured Personnel Carriers to purchase of luxury cars without virement; and that he essentially runs the police like a personal property by applying police resources and valuable assets to personal use by his children and close associates.”