Zanna Ibrahim: 24 hours after viral report, presidency keeps mum on appointment of new police IG

24 hours after report went viral in the media over the alleged appointment of Zanna Mohammed Ibrahim as the Acting Inspector General of Police, the presidency has maintained sealed lips.

Report had it that Zanna has been appointed to oversee the police force after Adamu Abubakar Mohammed clocked his retirement age on Monday.

However, sources at the presidency had hinted this newspaper that barring any last minute change of mind; Zanna has been penned down for the job.

Zanna Ibrahim, an indigene of Borno State, was born on November, 26, 1962.

Until his reported appointment AIG Mohammed was the Commandant of the Police Academy, Kano State, Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the presidency has not issued any statement to confirm or debunk the viral, a development an insider says “the silence is golden and that tells you there is element of truth in the report.”

According to the source at the Louis Edet House, there were mixed reactions at the force headquarters on Tuesday when the news broke out on the internet.

“Many persons were not surprised. Of course, others thought it would go to another geopolitical zone. So, it was mixed reactions coupled with tension when the report broke out,” the source, who would not want her name mentioned, said.

Meanwhile, IGP Adamu was among the dignitaries that welcomed President Buhari at the Abuja Airport on Tuesday night.

Buhari was in his country home, Katsina on a four-day visit.

He returned to Abuja on last night and was received by top dignitaries, including Adamu.

IDOMA VOICE recalls that the last time the presidency spoke about the appointment of new IG was Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, who said the appointment of the next Inspector-General of Police (IGP) will not be based on ethnic considerations.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, Shehu said the president will appoint the next IGP based on merit and not on factors such as ethnicity or regions.

“If you are going to appoint the service chiefs from every ethnic group in this country, you are going to have more than 250 Inspector-General of Police, 250 Chief of Army Staff, 250 Chief of Naval Staff. It’s not going to work like that. And they have their own systems of producing leadership,” he said.

A visit by this reporter to the force headquarters at Area 11 in Abuja Wednesday morning saw some police men at different spots discussing the development.

When approached by IDOMA VOICE for comment, many of them declined.