NIGERIA POLICE GETS FIRST FEMALE FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

·    As IGP Appoints New Principal Staff Officer  

Force Spokesperson, Kolawole

Principal Staff Officer, Idowu

In his determination to advance change over stasis, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Solomon E. Arase, has appointed Acting ACP Olabisi Alofe Kolawole as the new Force Public Relations Officer. Ag. ACP Kolawole becomes the first female police officer to be appointed as National Police spokesperson.

This appointment is geared towards harnessing the enormous potentials among Nigerian female Police officers.  Ag. ACP Kolawole who holds a first degree in law, from Ogun State University and a Masters degree in Police Leadership and management from University of Leicester, United Kingdom replaces CP Emmanuel Ojukwu who is now the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command. The new FPRO has served in various capacities both at national and international level. She was the Force Gender Adviser before her recent posting.

Similarly, the IGP has appointed Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa as  Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to  Inspector General of Police.

 The new PSO who holds a Bachelors degree in International Studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria as well as Masters degree in Criminal Justice and Policing from University of Leeds United Kingdom has served the Nigeria Police in diverse capacities, such as Staff Officer to the 2006 Alh Dan Madami-Chaired Presidential Committee on Nigeria Police Reforms, Divisional Crime officer National Assembly Complex Police Division Abuja. 

He was pioneer head of the Intelligence Analysis Unit of the Force Intelligence Bureau. Ag. ACP Owohunwa takes over from CP Austin Iwar who is now the Commissioner of Police, Gombe State  Command. Before his appointment as PSO Ag. ACP Owohunwa was the Personal Assistant (PA) to the current IGP.

BRIEF ON ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE (ACP) OLABISI KOLAWOLE

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olabisi Kolawole is a graduate of Police Academy; she studied Law in Ogun State University and graduated with Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B) in 2000. 

She graduated from the Nigeria Law School where she obtained a (BL) degree and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002. 

She attended University of Leicester, United Kingdom where she obtained a Masters degree in Police Leadership and Management (PLM).

She is an officer with vast policing experience at both national and international levels. At national level she has held several positions including Legal Adviser, Administration officer, intelligence officer and Force Gender Adviser among others. 

At the international level, she served in the following United Nations Missions; in East-Timor 2000, Kosovo 2004, Liberia 2006 and at the DPKO UNHQ, New York 2007. 

She is a member of the pool of investigators assisting the office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the investigations of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence as international crimes.

 Besides her core academic trainings and attainments, ACP Kolawole attended several professional Police courses within and outside the country namely;

•      Standing Police Capacity Training at the National Police Institute, Bramshil, London, United Kingdom in 2007

•      Counter Terrorism Studies at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom in 2008

•      POC/Sexual and Gender Based Violence Course at COESPU in Vicenza, Italy in 2013

•      Investigating cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence as International crimes at the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre, Doha, Qatar in 2013.

•      Protection of Civilian Train of trainers course, National Defence College, Abuja 2014.

•      Policy, Strategy and Leadership Course, National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Jos 2014.

•      Tactical Leadership and Command Course (TLCC) Police Staff College, Jos 2014.

•      Public Relations Course, Public Service Institute, Abuja 2015

She is a member of a number of organisations and associations such as;Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA),International Association of Women Police (IAWP), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), United Nations Women Police Network.

Until her appointment as the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Kolawole was the Deputy Director of the Directorate of Peacekeeping and the Police Force Gender Adviser.

She is happily married with children. Her hobbies include reading and travelling, her sport is Table Tennis.

 

Profile of Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa

Born on 20^th July, 1970 in Kabba, Kogi State, Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa was commissioned into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Officer (Course 19/1996) on 15^th August, 1996. He emerged as the Overall Best Graduating Cadet Officer in Professional Studies at the Police Academy, Kano. 

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Studies and Policing from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (on British Government Chevening Scholarship) and a Diploma in National Security from the Centre for Strategic Studies, Galilee International Management Institute, KibutzMizra, Israel. 

He has also attended the Global Peace Operations Initiative Course in Vicenza, Italy; US State Department Law Enforcement Executive Development Programme in Gaborone, Botswana; and the British Council Interaction Leadership Programme (2^nd Cohort).

Ag. ACP Owohunwa was a member of the Nigerian pilot Contingent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) which was involved in the post-war reform and restructuring of the Liberian National Police (LNP) in 2006 and also served as a Staff Officer to the 2006 Alh. Dan Madami-Chaired Presidential Committee on Nigeria Police Reform. A former Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police in the IGP Secretariat, Abuja, Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa has at various times served as Operations Officer in Ughelli Area Command, Delta State; Personal Assistant to CP (Personnel & Welfare) Force Headquarters, Abuja; 2i/c and Divisional Crime Officer, National Assembly Complex Police Division, Abuja; O/C General Investigation Section (D3), State CID, Lagos State Command; Divisional Police Officer, Eket Division, AkwaIbom State Police Command; and lately as the pioneer head of the Intelligence Analysis Unit of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Bureau.

An officer with passion for intellectual engagement, the research and published works of Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa include ‘Intelligence-Led Policing’ (Published in ‘The Monograph of Criminal Investigation’); ‘Anatomy of Police Corruption’ (Published in ‘Policing Nigeria in the 21^st Century); and ‘Miscarriages of Justice and the Nigeria Police’. Until his appointment as the Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. ACP Idowu Owohunwa was the Personal Assistant (PA) to the Inspector-General of Police. He is married with children.