Promotion: Angry police inspectors pasted IGP’s obituary

Angry police inspectors, who are supposed to be promoted to the ranks of Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP), have allegedly printed and pasted the obituary of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase in Benin, Edo State, where he wouldn’t miss them.

The pasted obituary posters occurred in his maternal village, Uhonmara, where he grew up in Edo State and at Afuze, where he has his hotel.

The news of the incident travelled down to Lagos and other states, after old folks, who cherished Arase, saw the obituary and alarmed, started making frantic calls to policemen they know. Their fear was doused after they were told that Arase was still alive.

The pasting of the said obituary posters happened in January after the last batch of promotion. It was further gathered that his loyalists in the community brought down the abominable posters.

A policeman said: “I didn’t know anything of such happened until I travelled to Ekpoma. I heard policemen discussing it. I heard the next line of action is to make a casket and drop it in his town and hotel.”

Two weeks ago, policemen at the Lagos State Police Command were still discussing the issue.

One of them said: “In fact, it was the phone call of my mother that woke me up that day. She wanted to find out if Arase was dead. I told it wasn’t true.”

When New Telegraph contacted the IGP via WhatsApp on the issue, he simply replied: “I have learnt not to sweat the small stuff.”

The Nigeria Police Force Spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole said concerning the issue: “Could you please take a picture and send to me please.”

Some of the affected inspectors in Lagos Police Command said Arase was denying their right to promotion, after the Police Board has recommended them.

One of them said: “Once you gone to Police Board for screening and you’ve been recommended to be promoted to ASP, nobody has the right to stop your promotion. Some of us have been on this Inspector rank over seven years. Now, Arase is using quota system. Many of our juniors have been promoted, while we are still on the same rank. Now, we’re saluting our juniors. It’s not right! It’s demeaning and humiliating. This kind of nonsense can never happen in the military.”

It was further learnt that about 11,000 Inspectors were screened by the Police Board some years back, but only 3,684 were promoted. These angry Inspectors put the blame of their not being promoted to ASP at Arase’s doorstep.

Another said: “I’ll soon retire. I have been praying that the promotion should come before my retirement. Many of our mates had also retired last year waiting for to be promoted to ASP. They weren’t! They’ve now gone on retirement as Inspectors. This means their gratuities and entitlements will be those of Inspectors.”

One of them opined: “Arase refused to promote officers that are due for promotion because he said police had no money to pay salaries that would come with their new ranks. I don’t understand why IGP is denying officers who merited promotions their rights. He’s using quota system, but quota system is not ethical and if it must be used at all, it starts with the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). He keeps saying no money. Is he the Federal Government? Why is he crying more than the bereaved?”

Reacting to the aggrieved policemen, Arase said: “The last promotion was done without any religious or ethnic coloration. The numbers of junior and senior inspectors, recommended by the Board for promotion to ASP, were more than what is on the establishment list of the police. What we did was to give 100 to each state of the federation.  The 100 are the best from each state of the federation. Even in my state, people are insulting and calling me all sorts of names. They said I’m not favouring my people. I don’t believe in ethnicity, but in the best. With regard to that last promotion, I gave police the best. Those protesting should understand the system. I can’t go more than the establishment list. Those who had not been promoted will soon be if the vacancies are there.”  

New Telegraph visited Ora nation during the weekend, but saw now posters. Hordes of combat ready Mobile and regular policemen were sighted at Ministars Event Center, along Old Ifon Road, Uhonmara. The Centre is said to belong to Arase,

An indigene, Mr. Collins said: “I don’t know of any such posters and no outsider will dare print and paste such a poster of an illustrious son of Ora clan. In any case, since the day the hotel, Ministars Event Center was opened, security has been tight within and around the premises. Even if some persons feel aggrieved that they were not promoted, is it on Ora community where you see the IGP once in a while that they would come for such a protest? Don’t they know the road to Abuja or Lagos or even in Benin City where their voice will be heard?”

Joe Abubakar, a commercial bike rider said: “I’m not aware that anything like that happened. I work here on daily basis and I didn’t see any obituary posters.”

A police source at Edo Police Command said: “There was promotion examination conducted for officers with the rank of police inspectors who are to be promoted to ASP three years ago; it was not during the tenure of the present IGP and therefore he cannot be held accountable for a policy he didn’t initiate even though he is in charge of the force.”  

Another source said: “I don’t think there’s any quota system. The truth is that if they promote all of the officers that are due for promotions, there wouldn’t be offices for them and no money to pay them. Some officers will need to move or retire for others to move in through promotions.”