Aruga Joe Omokaro, Lagos

There is palpable tension and underground schemings in Force Headquarters (FHQ) Louis Edet House, Abuja since November last year on who succeeds outgoing Lagos State Police boss, Hakeem Odumosu.

Odumosu was promoted two weeks ago from the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) to the next rank of Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police by Police Service Commission (PSC).

He is due to retire this month (January 22) after completing his statutory age. He served meritoriously in Lagos During his tenure Odumosu had sleepless nights resulting in low crime in Lagos. His success story is obviously attributed to his knowledge of Lagos terrain having served in various capacities in the state. He knows Lagos terrain like his palm

Already aware that Odumosu will retire towards the end of this year 2022, several officers had intensified lobby since November last year 2021

Discrete investigations by The SUPREME since November 2021 reveal that, five CPs had indicated interest to take over from Odumosu

They include Delta State CP, Ali Mohammed Ari, from Nasarawa State, CP Abiodun Sylvester Alabi CP Bauchi. He is from Ekiti State, CP Tunde Adagoduro in charge of Central Criminal Records (CCR), FIIB Alagbon Close Ikoyi, Lagos from Ogun State, Force Public Relations Officer, (FPRO) CP Frank Mba from Enugu State and one other CP from theNorth.

Our investigations reveal that among the CPs who had indicated interest to take over from Odumosu, Mohammed is said to be the most favoured by the police hierarchy.

A dependable source at FHQ confided on The SUPREME that “the IG (IGP Usman Alkali Baba) is more disposed to CP” Mohammed because of his pedigree.”

Our source opines that, “l believe the IG’ based his criteria on exposure and experience of Mohammed, who had served in various capacities in Lagos State like Odumosu.” The source argued that, “some people may attribute tribal sentiments in preferring Mohammed to others because he is from the North with the IG. But many people don’t understand that in deploying an officer to a place like Lagos, you must put into consideration the ability of such officer in performing to expectation of the public and his boss.”

“Mohammed knows Lagos terrain like his palm, he has served in various capacities in the state. So these are criterial believe the IG put into consideration in preferring him to other officers, ” our source argued.

We also learnt that Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had made overtures to the IGP Alkali and to the Police Service Commission (PSC) on behalf of CP CCR and CP Bauchi.

Our investigations further reveal that CP Adagunduro could not scale through the hurdle because he is due for retirement in March.

For Frank Mba he is said to have been penciled down to go to National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru near Jos Plateau State.

We have made indebt investigations on the pedigrees of the remaining officers.

For CP Mohammed, he had served as Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Lagos, he also served as Area Crime Officer in Lagos, he also served as Area Commander (Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP) also in Lagos and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of Operations for about three years in Lagos under three CPs including Odumosu. His exposure in Lagos has given an edge over other officers.

Apart from Lagos he had served in Rivers State as ACP Operations. Mohammed no doubt knows Lagos terrain like his palm. And for Alabi, he was also a DPO and Mobile Squadron Commander in two different Squadrons in Lagos. He also served in FHQ as ACP in Police Mobile Force. Alabi like Mohammed knows Lagos terrain like his palm. He once served in Bayelsa and Tarava states as a DCP.

However, it is not yet clear if Gov Sanwo-Olu would have his choice approved by the PSC and FHQ. FHQ source hinted that, Alabi may be deployed to Delta to replace Mohammed if Mohammed is eventually moved to Lagos.

We reliably learnt that the signal of posting of the officers was slated for tomorrow Friday, January 7, 2022, but has been postponed till next week, because the Permanent Secretary of PSC is still on holiday. And he is expected to resume work on Monday, January 10, 2022.

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