Shake-up in EFCC as IGP withdraws senior police officers

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered immediate withdrawal of senior police officers attached to the headquarters and zonal offices of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The officers withdrawn are from the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and above. The police boss also directed withdrawal of the officers attached to some private individuals in the country.

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This is just as the anti-graft agency has started the implementation of the report of Salami-led panel which proposed that police officers should stay away from heading the commission whether at the headquarters or at the zonal level.

It was learnt that zonal heads of the EFCC, who are police officers are now returning back to the police force. A source informed Daily Trust that all police officers holding key positions in the commission would return to the force.

”There is no doubt again that all the police officers holding key positions in EFCC would go back to the Nigerian Police Force. Most of them are senior officers and I think an order has come from the Presidency to that effect,” the source said.

The spokesman of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comments as of when filing this report as calls pull across to his phone were not answered.

The acting IGP, Baba, who premised his decision to withdraw the officers from EFCC on the operational requirements of the force in a letter dated April 15, 2021, addressed to the EFCC Chairman and signed by his Principal Staff Officer, Idowu Omohunwa, directed the affected officers to report not later than Wednesday.

The letter partly read, “I write to extend earnest regards of the Inspector-General of Police and to inform the chairman that the Inspector-General of Police has directed the withdrawal of all senior police officers from the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police and above attached to your agency.

“The decision is informed by the current operational requirements of the force. You are accordingly requested to kindly direct the immediate release of the concerned officers who are to collectively report to the undersigned on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at 10 am for further instructions.

“I am to also request that you avail this office the comprehensive nominal roll of all police personnel attached to the EFCC to include their date of transfer and designations in the agency for the purpose of updating our records.”

Last Thursday, Baba while speaking at the opening of a conference of Police Strategic Commanders, consisting of officers with the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP) and above, also ordered the immediate disbandment of the IGP Monitoring Units in Lagos and Port Harcourt States with immediate effect.

The police chief also ordered the streamlining of the personnel profile of the IGP Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters to not more than 50 operatives.

Daily Trust recalls that the erstwhile IGP, Mohammed Adamu, had in July 2020 withdrew riot policemen from the EFCC and replaced them with new ones. Adamu, in a signal then, directed the police personnel from Police Mobile Force 21, 44, 45, 46 and 50 to report to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.