President Bola Tinubu has removed Solomon Arase as Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), just three days after the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) submitted a petition against him. The ICIR’s petition alleged corrupt practices by Arase during his tenure as Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and abuse of office as PSC chairman.
The petition prompted the President to appoint Hashimu Argungu as the new PSC chairman on June 10, despite Arase’s four-year term being far from complete. Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced the appointment, noting that it is subject to Senate confirmation.
“President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of DIG (Deputy Inspector-General of Police) Hashimu Argungu (Rtd) as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC). The President has also approved the appointment of Chief Onyemuche Nnamani as Secretary and DIG Taiwo Lakanu (Rtd) as a member of the commission,” Ngelale stated.
The ICIR’s investigation highlighted that Arase and another former IGP, Ibrahim Idris, allegedly received house allocations worth over N200 million as incentives for awarding a contract to Copran International Limited, diverting land originally meant for police barracks.
Following the investigation’s publication, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre (NPF-NCCC) detained The ICIR’s Executive Director Dayo Aiyetan and reporter Nurudeen Akewushola for over nine hours. The ICIR claimed this police action was at Arase’s instigation, focusing on the source of their report rather than the corruption allegations.
“Thus, the Police appeared more interested in protecting the interest of the person who allegedly fraudulently sold their property than investigating the allegations against him (Arase) and recovering their property,” the ICIR stated in its petition.
The ICIR also criticized Arase for using the PSC letterhead to write a personal petition to the police, calling it an abuse of office. They argued that Arase’s actions aimed to intimidate their journalists and obstruct their reporting.
“We consider this as a brazen and flagrant abuse of office by the chairman of the Police Service Commission, who by virtue of his position oversees promotions and appointments in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF),” the ICIR’s petition read.
The ICIR urged President Tinubu to initiate an independent investigation into the corruption allegations against Arase, excluding police involvement to ensure impartiality. They also requested that the IGP be instructed to prevent further intimidation of their staff.