Ibrahim Kpotun Idris

Ibrahim Idris Kpotun (born 15 January 1959) is a Nigerian police officer and former Inspector General of Police.[1] He was appointed to this position by President Muhammadu Buhari on 21 March 2016,serving till his retirement in January 2019. Quotes I’m from Niger State, and in those days, it was part of the North-Western State. I spent all my childhood and youthful days in Sokoto State before Niger was created in 1976. I had my primary and post-primary education in Sokoto State, and I attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The way I joined the police force was quite funny in a way. Upon my graduation from the university, I travelled to Lagos because it was the capital of Nigeria then. I was told that the police was recruiting; I went for the interview and that was how I joined the police. When my father later got to know that I had joined the police, he questioned why I had to take such a job after going to the university because he felt it was not befitting. Before he died, he blessed me but he was initially opposed to it. Integrity, service, humility, patience, contentment; he was widely respected in his community. My father taught me that I should never be in a rush as everything happens at its own time. My mother is a very traditional woman from one of the three ruling houses in Bida, Niger State. And that’s how I’m related to the current Emir. She is a very homely person who always supported her husband’s decisions. President Muhammadu Buhari was the major person. When we were growing up, everybody wanted to be like him because of his forthrightness. He inspired me to make sure that things are always done properly, which I have been doing all through my service. I do things by the book, and that’s one of the reasons, I was chosen for the UN mission. No. By the time I studied law, I was already in the police force. It has helped in a lot of ways. If you study my speeches, policy statements and the creed of the Nigeria Police Force, you would know that it was formulated by someone with a legal background. I talk about respecting the fundamental human rights of Nigerians, and serving the people wholly. Knowledge of the law makes you a better police officer because you would identify and appreciate the core values of humanity. Between 2010 and 2016, there was no recruitment into the police in this country. And that has caused a huge gap in our manpower requirement. I’ve never seen any institution where people pass away, retire, and resign, yet they are not replaced, especially the rank and file. The only thing we’re doing is to train those at the officer cadre level at the police academy. We had a security summit some months back and that’s one of the things we discussed. I think this issue needs to be tackled by communal approach, especially the governors.