AFTER surviving a previous dismissal from the Nigeria Police in 1999 to return in 2009, what looks like Zakari Biu’s good fortunes tanked-out on Wednesday as the Police Service Commission,
sitting in Abuja, recommended him for dismissal – barely one month to his retirement after XX years in service.
Mr. Biu’s dismissal follows the controversy surrounding his role in the escape of suspected Boko Haram kingpin, Kabiru Sokoto, the prime suspect in last year’s Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, in which over 40 worshippers were killed and several others injured.
Sokoto was initially arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, on January 14, by a team of policemen, who had traced him to the location using a tracking device.
Announcing the fate of the police chief yesterday, the police in a statement said: “The Police Service Commission, after due consideration of the role played by Commissioner of Police, Hassan Zakari Biu, in the escape of the Boko Haram suspect, Kabiru Sokoto, today approved the dismissal of Mr. Hassan Zakari Biu from the Nigeria Police Force with effect from February 22, 2012.”
The police commissioner was previously sacked from the force by the government ofPresident Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, following alleged unprofessional activities during the regime of former military Head of State, the late General Sanni Abacha.
Sokoto, the terror suspect, was in the custody of Commissioner Biu as the officer in charge of investigations, when he escaped while being transported to his house for a search.
The decision to dismiss him was taken during the commission’s 26th plenary meeting held yesterday and in exercise of its constitutional mandate. It was presided over by the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Parry Osayande, a retired Deputy Inspector- General of Police. The statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the commission, Mr. Ferdinand Ekpe, added that the PSC took other far-reaching decisions aimed at repositioning the Nigeria Police Force for effective service delivery to the nation.
Zakari Biu’s dismissal from the Nigeria police would come to many Nigerians as a welcome event, given the controversial nature of his service with the organization. He gained initial prominence as the head of the task force on terrorism under the administration of the late General Abacha, where he was himself alleged to be the face of terror, according to those who were unfortunate to endure his then excesses.
He was linked to a series of state-sponsored terror acts of that era, including the fatal bomb attack on journalist Bagauda Kaltho of The News, whom Biu claimed to have died in the process of installing a bomb. Another person who died in similar circumstances suspected to be the handiwork of Biu was Dr. Sola Omatsola. As with the case with Kaltho, Biu claimed Omatsola died while planting a bomb. Chris Anyanwu, another female journalist was reportedly assaulted under Biu’s custody so badly that her visibility was impaired.
Respected Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, once described Zakari Biu as a “brute” who is capable of “strapping a bomb on himself and blowing-up a passenger plane.”
Eight years after his forced retirement by the Obasanjo Adminstration, Biu petitioned the Police Service Commission claiming that he was retireed without following procedure. In its response to Biu’s petition, the Commission held that he was entitled to be reabsorbed into the police since his name was still on the police register. He was subsequently reabsorbed in 2009.
Biu was recommended for promotion in 2011 by former Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim, a former course mate of Biu’s, who himself was fired last month President Jonathan. The PSC approved his promotion, which took effect from December 15, 2011. He was subsequently posted to Abuja as Commissioner of Police in charge of CID Zone 7, the position that put him in charge of investigating the terrorism charges levelled against Sokoto.
The Police Service Commission also on Wednesday approved the appointment of seven new Deputy Inspectors General of Police to form the new management team, which is to work with the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.
The new DIGs are Suleiman Dauda Fakai, former AIG Zone 3 Yola; Atiku Yusufu Kafur, former AIG Zone 7, Abuja: Emmanuel Kachi Udeoji, CP Force Headquarters; Haruna John, former CP Benue State and FCT; Peter Yisa Ganam, former CP Kwara State; Marvel Akpoyibo, former CP Kogi State and Lagos State; and Abdurahaman O. Akano, former CP Plateau State.
Also, the commission deliberated on and confirmed the promotion of 13 Commissioners of Police to Assistant Inspectors General of Police. They are Solomon E. Olusegun, former CP Osun State; Michael E. Zuokumor, former CP FCT; Orubebe Gandhi Ebikeme; Philemon I. Leha, former CP Mobile Police; Jonathan Johnson, former CP Force CID; Dan’azumi Job Doma, former CP Enugu State.
Others are Joseph Ibi, former CP Training Force Headquarters; Muktari Ibrahim; Suleiman A. Abba, former CP Rivers State; Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe, former CP Delta State; Saliu; Argungu Hashimu, Solomon E. Arase, former CP Akwa Ibom State and David O. Omojola, now on course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategy Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
Furthermore, the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim A. Lamorde, was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police.