Acting IG Claims Solomon Arase Kept 24 Police Vehicles for Personal Use.

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has accused his former boss, Solomon Arase of failing to return 24 police vehicles after he retired from office.

Idris also claimed that the seven Deputy Inspectors General of Police, who were recently retired also left with at least seven to eight police vehicles each, the Punch is reporting.

Idris told journalists in Abuja on Sunday that the 24 vehicles allegedly taken by Arase included 2 bulletproof BMW 7 series cars.

He said he has therefore set up a Special Investigative panel to probe the number of police vehicles purchased in the last three years to ascertain how they were distributed.

He said he has also written his predecessor and the other recently retired officers to return the vehicles in their possession.

“So, what I am telling you is that I have signed a directive to my SIP (I have a special investigation panel, I set it up). It is going to investigate all the vehicle purchases, contributions to the police and the distribution of those vehicles in the last three years; we are going to look into that.

“When I took over, there was no vehicle, even the vehicle I would use. I discovered the last IG went away with 24 vehicles; the DIGs, some of them eight, some of them seven. The IG’s vehicles included two BMW 7 series, one armoured; and he left me with an old car.

“The last time I followed the President with it, he was asking me, ‘what are you doing with this old car’ because if you see the headlight, the thing has changed colour, which means they parked it and rains and everything had fallen on it, but the new ones that were bought, he (Arase) went with all of them; they are part of the 24.

“I wrote back to him and said, we have a policy that says when a policeman retires, if you are an IG, AIG, a CP, you are entitled to some vehicles; please, the extra, return it. Four vehicles are enough for an average human being, but what will you even do with four vehicles; but he took 24 vehicles, including two BMW cars.

“I wrote to him (Arase), I wrote to the DIGs.”

However, Arase, has denied the allegations saying he should stop what he termed as a malicious media propaganda and focus on tackling the security challenges in the country.

He said, “What am I going to do with 24 cars? Do I want to open a car shop? This is a malicious accusation. There are ways of verifying issues rather than engaging in media propaganda.”