IGP Idris out to probe Arase over N8b Police fund

IGP. Mr Ibrahim Idris

There are indications of a cold war  between the incumbent Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Kpotum Idris and his predecessor, IGP Solomon Ehigiator Arase over the investigations of some of the activities and actions of the erstwhile IGP’s one year and three months administration with sources close to the two Police top shots indicating that President Muhammadu Buhari may be dragged into the cold war battle for the matter to be settled. Saturday Vanguard gathered that the latest of such investigations is the probe of contracts awarded by the last administration for the rehabilitation of Police Training Institutions and Colleges located in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

It was learnt that following the planned recruitment of 10, 000 police officers as announced by President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government had released the sum of N8billion for the smooth conduct of the exercise. According to investigations, the N8billion was to be used for such items like overhead, Technical Resources, Feeding, Advertisement and enlightenment, Salaries and Allowances,  Accoutrement, Teaching Aids, Arms and Ammunition, Monitoring and Evaluation, Teaching Allowances as well as Renovation of Training Institutions.


However, police sources told Saturday Vanguard that the Idris administration having gone round some of the renovated institutions was dis-satisfied with the level and quality of job done by contractors  especially considering that several hundreds of millions had already been paid them. A source told Saturday Vanguard that the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos; Police College, Orji River, Enugu, Police College, Wudil, Kano; Police College, Jos, Plateau State; Police Training School, Sokoto; and Police Training School, Minna, Niger state each was allocated between N120million to N130million totalling about over N700million for the renovation exercises but that from investigation on site, the huge amounts did not reflect jobs done.

Saturday Vanguard was however able to stumble on a document giving the actual breakdown of what the N8billion released by the federal government was meant for, and the actual amount allocated for the renovation of the Police training institutions. The breakdown showed that going by allocation to items, the sum of N2.83billion was allocated for Salaries and Allowances of the 10, 000 policemen including officers for the duration of the training exercise; N3. 4billion was allocated for feeding while Accoutrement was allocated the sum of N1. 03billion.

Arms and Ammunition (for shooting range) training was allocated N450million; Monitoring and Evaluation was allocated N117. 9million; Teaching Allowances got N61million while Teaching Aids was allocated N118. 2million. Overhead costs got an allocation of 339. 4million; Advertisement and Enlightenment got an allocation of N1. 8million; Technical Resources got allocation of N1.1million while the Renovation of Training Institutions where the police officers will be trained, got an allocation of N179million.

The total amount therefore arrived at N8. 607b Consequently, the investigation revealed that contrary to the allegation that about N700million was paid to contractors to carry out massive renovation in the training schools, only N179million was paid out and that while some schools got allocated N30million, others got allocation of N40million depending on the level of repairs and rehabilitation work to be embarked upon. Aside the N8. 6billion probe, it was learnt that the Police Housing project of building 100 houses for police officers in the geo-political zones by the last administration has been investigated only for the investigating committee to conclude that the contracts met all laid down criteria for costing, quality and selling of the housing units which will be sold at N5million each to successful applicants.

It would be recalled that another probe instituted by the Idris administration recently claimed that former IGP Solomon Arase went away with 21 Police vehicles including operational cars, just as the administration last week said it has recovered 19 vehicles from the former IGP. IGP Arase however rubbished claims of the recoveries, noting that the allegation waas a ploy by some forces bent on tarnishing his image. The ex-IGP in a statement issued on Monday, Arase warned that he would not hesitate to seek legal redress if those desperate to tarnish his image failed to desist.