Why Onovo was sacked
Ogbonna Onovo, the
immediate past inspector general of police, was sacked due to his
inability to quell the alarming rate of kidnappings in the country, a
source in the police who asked not to be named, told NEXT yesterday.
The source added
that the recent resurgence the fanatical group Boko Haram was the last
straw that sealed the fate of Mr. Onovo, who replaced Mike Okiro in
August, last year. He thus became the Inspector-General of Police with
the shortest stay in office in the nation’s history.
Tainted record
“The president was
not happy with the way Onovo handled the killing of Mallam Mohammed
Yussuf [Boko Haram leader] while in police custody,” the source said,
adding that “The recent uprising forced the president to act.”
Under Mr. Onovo’s
watch, kidnapping had gone virtually unchecked in the South-East and
various parts of the country. The former Inspector-General was also at
the centre of huge controversy throughout his one year tenure.
The police source suggested that there were also some ethnic pressure in the sacking.
“From day one, the northerners were not happy with the appointment,” the source said.
“They had wanted
Yar’Adua to bring in John Hamza Amodu to replace Okiro.” The source
revealed that Mr. Jonathan who is travelling to America for the United
Nations general assembly wants to ensure that his house was in order
before the trip.
“Mr. President is travelling to US now, removing the IG now would
make him appear proactive in the eyes of international communities’’
the source said.
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