New Inspector General of Police Talks Tough, But

                                                          
                                                           MD Abubakar




As it has now become customary for new police chiefs, Nigeria's new Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar has been talking tough since he was appointed in an acting capacity on Wednesday, vowing to fight the Islamic sect Boko Haram to a standstill.

But analysts have cautioned that talk is cheap, and that such boastful stance by past police chiefs to tackle the country's seemingly intractable security challenges has ended up as mere posturing.

They also remind Abubakar of the fate that befell his immediate predecessor, Hafiz Ringim, who was practically humiliated out of office by his embarrassing failure to tackle the worsening Boko Haram crisis.

Under Ringim's watch, Boko Haram killed most of the 935 people who have died in attacks by the sect since 2009, while the sect succeeded in bombing the national headquarters of the police in the capital city of Abuja as well as the UN office in the city.

The last straw for the ill-fated former IGP was last Friday's attacks in the northern city of Kano, which left 185 dead - the single biggest casualty inflicted by the group. The attack followed the yet-unexplained escape from police custody of a top Boko Haram suspect.

Still, Abubakar, 53, insists things will be different under his command.

“I want to assure all Nigerians that this administration under my leadership will be different from all other Police administrations. I will be a team player because I can’t do it all alone. There is no Commander without troops. We have done it in other places, we demonstrated it and we are going to demonstrate it here,' he said while formally assuming office Thursday.

“I do know that we have a very challenging and uphill task... We shall focus on the areas that we know the police are lacking, that is training and re- training programmes, welfare scheme and ability to detect crime. We shall move into every nook and corner of this country and do what is expected of us in respect of fighting crime and criminality,' he said.

Abubakar's antecedents seem to have prepared him for the police top job. He has held many important command positions and has served in areas with tough security challenges, including the economic capital city of Lagos, where he served as Deputy Commissioner and Police Commissioner, as well as the northern Plateau state, which has been wracked by long-running internecine violence.

But, as if he needed to be reminded that he faces tougher challenges in his new post, a day after his appointment, Boko Haram issued fresh threats, saying in a video posted on Youtube by its leader, Abubakar Shekau, that it will strike 'again and again'.

Also, Abubakar's appointment has been rejected by the umbrella Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the entire Northern Nigeria and Abuja, who said he was indicted by a panel of inquiry over the Plateau crisis.

“Christians in Northern Nigeria will not feel safe following his antecedents as the Commissioner of Police in Plateau state as documented by the Hon. Justice Niki Tobi Commission of inquiry into the bloody killings the crisis in Jos in 2001,” the association said in a statement on Thursday.

“To us it is a licence given to him by the President to unleash terror on Christians and we reject his appointment as acting IG,” the statement said.

However, the Nigerian presidency seems to have concluded that the new police boss is credible enough to head the organization.

The local media on Friday quoted a presidency source as saying Abubakar was appointed based on merit and professional excellence, while disputing his so-called indictment by the Justice Niki Tobi Panel.

“Most of the Commissioners of Police posted to Plateau State in the last 12 years have always been accused of one thing or the other. In the specific case of this new IGP, there is no record that the report was forwarded to the Inspector-General of Police or the Police Service Commission.

“The man was not at any time queried; he was not sanctioned in any way. The principle in law is that an indictment is not a conviction,' the source was quoted as saying.

While early indications are that Abubakar may surmount the challenge being posed to his appointment by the country's Christians and some civil society groups, it remains to be seen whether he will overcome the ultimate challenge posed by Boko Haram.