Full List of Inspector General of Police in Nigeria (1964 – Date)
The highest rank in the Nigerian Police is the Inspector General of Police, abbreviated as IGP. He also doubles as the the head of the Nigeria Police Force in general.
Apart from being the most senior officer in the police service, the IGP receives the highest salary in the force. Before his appointment, he is recommended by the Nigeria Police Council to the President, who in turn, sends the name of the officer to the Senate for confirmation.
HERE IS A LIST OF ALL PAST IGP’S FROM 1964 TILL DATE:
- Louis Edet (1964 – 1966)
- Kam Salem (1966 – 1974)
- Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu (1975 – 1979)
- Adamu Suleiman (1979 – 1981)
- Sunday Adewusi (1981 – 1983)
- Etim Inyang (1985 – 1986)
- Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta (1986 – 1990)
- Aliyu Attah (1990 – 1993)
- Ibrahim Coomassie (1993 – 1999)
- Musiliu Smith (1999 – 2002)
- Mustafa Adebayo Balogun (2002 – 2005)
- Sunday Ehindero (2005 – 2007)
- Mike Mbama Okiro (2007 – 2009)
- Ogbonna Okechukwu Onovo (2009 – 2010)
- Hafiz Ringim (2010 – 2012)
- Mohammed Dikko Abubakar ( 2012 – 2014)
- Suleiman Abba (2014 – 2015)
- Solomon Arase (2015-2016)
- Ibrahim Idris Kpotum (2016-2019)
- Adamu Mohammed (2019 – 2021)
- Usman Alkali Baba (2021 – 2023)
- IGP Kayode Egbetokun (2023 – date)
WHO IS THE CURRENT INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE?
The current office holder of the Inspector General of Police is IGP Kayode Egbetokun. He was appointed by President Tinubu in 2023 and currently heads the Nigerian Police Force at its Headquarters in Louis Edet House, Abuja.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NIGERIAN POLICE
The Nigerian Police (NP) is the main law enforcement agency in Nigeria boasting a staff strength of about 371,800 officers. Although, there are plans to recruit more officers and increase the force to 650,000, the Federal government is yet to speak about it.
The NP has 36 state commands further divided into 12 zones and 7 administrative organs. The organization is currently headed by Adamu Mohammed since IGP Ibrahim Kpotun Idris retired recently.
The NPF now has 8-Departments, 8-DIGs, 17-Zonal Commands, 4-FCID Annexes.
The NPF maintains a three-tier administrative structure of departments, zonal and state commands.
DEPARTMENTS
| Title | Departments | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Finance and Administration | Finance and Administration | General administration and Finance |
| Department of Operations | Operations | Crime prevention, Public Order, Public Safety |
| Department of Logistics and Supply | Logistics and Supply | Works and Police Estate Management |
| Department of Criminal Investigation | Force Criminal Investigation Department (FORCID) | Investigation |
| Department of Training and Development | Training | Human resources |
| Department of Research and Planning | Planning, Research and Development | Statistics and Data |
| Department of Information Technology | Information and communication technology | Communication management |
Before, the NPF was fully under the general operational and administrative control of the Inspector General (IGP) who was appointed by the president and directly responsible for the maintenance of law and order.
It was in March 1989, that the Babangida led administration abolished the Police Service Commission and established the Nigeria Police Council which was directly under presidential control.
In late 1986, the NPF was divided into seven area commands nationwide. Each command had a commissioner of police and was split further into police provinces and divisions under local officers.
The NPF headquarters was also an area command, supervised and coordinated the other area commands. The Area Commands were grouped under Zone Commands which included:
Zone 1, Headquartered Kano, with Kano, Kastina, and Jigawa Commands
Zone 2, Headquartered Lagos, with Lagos, and Ogun commands
Zone 3, Headquartered Yola, with Adamawa, and Gombe Commands
The three major Governmental Agencies that oversee the control and supervision of the Nigerian Police Force are; The Police Service Commission, the Nigerian Police Council and Ministry of interior.
RANKS IN THE NIGERIA POLICE
Police ranks from highest to lowest include:
- Inspector General (IG)
- Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG)
- Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG)
- Commissioner of Police (CP)
- Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)
- Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)
- Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP)
- Superintendent of Police (SP)
- Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)
- Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)
- Inspector of Police
- Sergeant
- Major Sergeant
- Corporal
- Constable
