Lagos Police clear air on appointment of new commissioner

Amid reports claiming the purported appointment of Mr Frank Mba as the new commissioner for Lagos, the state Police Command has clarified that Mr. Abiodun Alabi remains in charge.

State Command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who issued the clarification, Friday, in a Twitter statement, said it ‘for the avoidance of doubt, no Commissioner of Police has been posted to Lagos State.’

Reports which went viral, Thursday, had claimed that CP Mba, a one-time spokesperson for the Lagos Police Command, had been deployed by the Inspector General of Police Mr Usman Alkali Baba, as the new commissioner for the state.

However, making the clarification, the Lagos Command described the viral reports as a waste of valuable time.’

“The Lagos State Police Command has been inundated with requests for clarification on the status of the Commissioner of Police in the Command.

“We wish to state categorically that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State is still CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc, mnim, psc.

“For the avoidance of doubt, no Commissioner of Police has been posted to Lagos State.

“Members of the public are, therefore, urged to disregard fake news making the rounds that a new Commissioner of Police has been deployed to Lagos State Police Command.

“It is hoped that this clarification would halt the barrage of calls to officers of the Command which has resulted in needless distraction and waste of valuable time,” the statement read.

It would be recalled that the report claimed that the IGP Baba had redeployed two senior police officers as commissioners to Lagos and Ogun states; CP Mba to Lagos and CP Idowu Owohunwa, respectively.

Mba who is presently the Commissioner of Police, Border Patrol Unit, at the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja, had also previously served in Lagos as the State Criminal Investigation Department SCID Panti in Yaba. While, CP Owohunwa is presently the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to the IGP Baba in Abuja.

Meanwhile, a fresh report has claimed that the appointment of Idowu and Mba were actually recommendations made by IGP Baba to the Police Service Commission (PSC).

IG Baba, it was claimed had recommended to the PSC the appointment of CP Mba as the next Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, as well as, CP Owohunwa for the Ogun Command.

While CP Frank Mba, former Force Public Relations Officer, is the current Commissioner of Police in charge Federal Border Patrol branch at the, CP Owohunwa is currently the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba.

A letter conveying the recommendations from the IGP to this effect dated January 24, 2023, and signed by the Force Secretary, AIG Hafiz Inuwa was delivered to the PSC for activation.

According to the letter, the postings are part of a strategy being put in place by the IGP to strengthen the strategic and operational readiness of the Police force in Lagos and Ogun commands.

“I am directed to humbly write and forward the proposed posting of the under-mentioned commissioners of police to State Commands indicated against their names for the Commission’s kind consideration and approval.

“The Inspector General of Police is deploying the under-mentioned Commissioners of Police to strengthen the strategic and operational control of the commands,” the letter read.