Buhari Chooses Retiring Police AIG as Senior Security Adviser

By Adedapo Adesanya

With less than two weeks to the end of his tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed the retiring Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr Garba Baba Umar, as a Senior Security Adviser on International Police Cooperation and Counter-terrorism in the office of the Minister of Police Affairs.

According to the presidency, this is to enable Nigeria to keep the important position and make way for him to complete his nationally beneficial tenure as an Executive Member of the International Police Organization (Interpol).

A statement from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said in approving his appointment, President Buhari took note of a precedent in which a former Executive Member, AIG Kamal Subair (Rtd) was retained in service by the Federal Government of Nigeria after retirement in 2018.

It was stated that during his tenure as a member of the Executive Committee, AIG Umar assisted Nigeria in many ways, with the hope that in the remaining year, he will even do more in securing equipment for crimes, border management and counter-terrorism for the country and in helping to get more Nigerians into important positions in the Interpol.

AIG Umar’s tenure at the Interpol ends in November 2024, and his new appointment as Senior Security Adviser takes effect from Monday, May 16, 2023.