President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Garba Baba Umar, a retiring assistant inspector general of police (AIG), as senior security adviser on international police cooperation and counterterrorism in the ministry of police affairs.
Buhari made the appointment, according to a statement from his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, to allow Nigeria to maintain its position as an Executive Member of the International Police Organization (INTERPOL), which is now held by Umar.
Though Umar is billed to go on retirement from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) soon, his office as an Executive Member of the INTERPOL subsists till November 2024, according to the statement.
“To enable Nigeria 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, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed the retiring Assistant Inspector General of Police, Garba Baba Umar as a Senior Security Adviser on International Police Cooperation and Counter-terrorism in the office of the Minister of Police Affairs.
“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”
According to the st]statement, Buhari took note of the fact 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 one 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.