Society Gists

Several mid-level police officers have provided SaharaReporters with a list of grave acts of corruption allegedly committed by Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris. The officers, some of them retired but most still in active service, stated that the IGP’s notoriety for embezzlement of funds, frequent abandonment of his post, and sexual liaisons with subordinates preceded his time as the Commissioner of Police for Kano State. The allegationsraise serious questions about Mr. Idris’s fitness to lead the police force in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari with its vow to build public trust in institutions.

One of the most alarming allegations against Mr. Idris relate to the unlawful sale of thirty vehicles. “Idris should be investigated on the circumstances leading to the disappearance of about 30 vehicles which are known to have been released to fictitious claimants,” one serving police officer said.

The illicitly sold vehicles include a Honda Accord, registration number BP 529 KMC, sold to an Ahmed Sani Mohammed of Kano State, a Honda Civic, registration number BH 742 NSR, to an Ibrahim Jamilu of Kano State, a Toyota Sienna, registration number RBC 501 AM, to a Hajiya Safiya Danlami of Kano State, a Nissan Murano, with registration number NSR 389 XV, to a Datti Abubakar of Kano State, an unregistered Honda Civic to Garba Shehu of Kano State, and an unregistered Toyota Matrix to a Friday Kassimu also of Kano State.

According to our police sources, other vehicles disposed of in shady circumstances include an unregistered Mercedes Benz, a Volkswagen Golf 111, and a Toyota Lexus Jeep.The sources disclosed that the addresses associated with the so-called buyers of the vehicles are incomplete—often without street numbers or phone number contacts. The incomplete addresses have made it impossible to authenticate the identity of the buyers. “It is all part of the IG’s ploy to conceal his wrongdoing. We urge the Presidency to order a probe into the so-called sale of these cars. They will find that the truth is that Idris acquired most, if not all, those vehicles for himself,” one senior police source said.

Police sources told our correspondent that Mr. Idris was a practiced hand at the selling of public property for private profit. They alleged that he played a key role in the unlawful sale of police property in Kano State outposts for personal gain during the height of the Boko Haram crisis.

Several police sources remarked on Mr. Idris’s notoriety for sexual relationships with his subordinates. “In total disregard of police ethics, the IG has been cohabitating with a corporal named Amina,” one source claimed. He added, “Amina wields a lot of influence within the force.”

Another officer corroborated the account. “Idris has the habit of dismissing senior officers during official hours to spend time with Amina who even poses for photographs in his office,” said the source. The sources told SaharaReporters that the IGP transferred Amina to Abuja where she is now living luxuriously in a hotel and driven about in a Frontier Jeep—all her expenses allegedly paid for by Mr. Idris despite his meager public servant salary.

Our sources alleged that Mr. Idris’s extravagant lifestyle extends to the United States where he has a spouse, a woman he met while on a peacekeeping mission in Liberia. The US-based wife, Maria Idris, is of Liberian descent, and reportedly has two children for the IGP. Our sources said Mr. Idris has been supporting his US-based wife, questioning how he can afford such expenses on his police salary.

“The IG’s maintenance of a family in faraway America is repeatedly discussed by fellow officers. We wonder howhas been able to pay for the expenses of his second family in the US,” one source told SaharaReporters.

Other police sources said they were dismayed that President Buhari chose a man as IGP who lacks operational expertise and courage. One officer alleged that, as the Commissioner of Police in Kano, Mr. Idris locked himself inside a toilet for hours during an attack by Islamist insurgents belonging to Boko Haram in Kano. “During a Boko Haram raid in 2012, the then Commissioner of Police [Mr. Idris] locked himself in the toilet for hours at the State Police Command Headquarters,” said the source. He added that Mr. Idris’s hiding allowed Boko Haram fighters to move through Kano unimpeded, killing men, women and children as well as police officers.

Several officers contrasted Mr. Idris’s cowardice with the bravery displayed in Borno State by the Commissioner of Police, Simeon Midenda. They said Mr. Midenda joined some agents of the Department of State Security (DSS) in a fierce battle with Boko Haram insurgents. They added that Mr. Midenda’s efforts led to the killing of numerous Boko Haram insurgents.

Our police sources also accused Mr. Idris of naked nepotism in making top appointments. They said the IGP’s questionable appointments included that of CSP Kolo to head the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Our sources said Mr. Kolo had been accused of raping a woman. They added that Mr. Kolo was never seriously investigated for the alleged rape, adding, “We demand that the then AIG in charge, Alhaji Tambari Yabobe, be mandated to produce the case file and to explain why the matter was swept under the carpet.”

Our sources, including a member of a watchdog group, also accused Mr. Idris of leading a crop of officers who carried out extrajudicial killings in Kano State during a period of assaults by Islamist terrorists.

SaharaReporters repeatedly reached out to Mr. Idris for comment on these allegations. However, he declined to take our calls and did not respond to text messages. SaharaReporters spoke to one of Mr. Idris’s deputies who said the IG was in a meeting and would return our call afterwards. Mr. Idris never rang back.