The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba, recipient of National Daily Man of the Year award, is the 21st indigenous Inspector General of Police in Nigeria.
IGP Alkali Baba, from Geidam, Gombe State, North East Nigeria, since his enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force on March 15, 1988, has served in various capacities before attaining the highest position of inspector general of Police.
He was an assistant Superintendent of Police, and was later promoted to Commissioner of Police on 27 January 2013.
Alkali Baba was posted to Delta State In 2014,where he was appointed Commissioner of Police. He later became Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Force CID, force secretary at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. Alkali Baba was, at a time, Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and was a Directing Staff at the Staff College.
While rising on the hierarchy, Alkali Baba served as deputy commissioner in Kaduna, administration and assistant commissioner, CID. He served in Ilorin as an area commander.
In Ebonyi State, Alkali Baba was the second-in-command. He was Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in several states, which include Kaduna, Yola, Jos and Gombe.
Baba was a former Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Zone 5, in-charge of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states.
The IGP Baba is a fellow of the International War College and a member of the International Association of Police.
The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba studied political science at Bayero university, Kano, and Masters in Public Administration at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.
He was a member of course 22/2014 2014 at National Defence College.
Usman Alkali Baba IGO was appointed Inspector general of Police by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 6, 2021.
He has been working assiduously to the actualisation of his mission of “Rebuilding the Nigeria Police Force not just in crime fighting but working hard to boost the morale of police personnel” towards building a people-friendly police system, and leaving a legacy of policing with human face.
President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Baba to replace Mohammed Adamu who retired from Nigeria Police Force in February 2021.
Taking charge at a time the yearnings of Nigerians for a reformed Police was at its crescendo, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has successfully set the Force on a pedestal that will help chart the course of creating a system that embraces 21st century global best practices in policing the society.
There is no other time that the saying: “The Police is your friend’’ makes more sense than now, especially, with the efforts the IGP Usman Alkali Baba has made to bridge the gap, and de-escalate the suspicion between the Police and the public since assumption of office, thus, his landmark performance establishes him as a man who is committed to his vision.
IGP Usman Alkali Baba hit the ground running by setting out his transformation agenda to reposition the Police Force and strengthen the operational capacity of the personnel.
The IGP initiated the reward and punishment policy in the Force to encourage dedication to duty. He also organised short-term training for officers to enhance their capacity and give them reorientation for policing activities in a democracy. This includes the training of officers on Election Security Management ahead of the 2023 elections, which are held across the Six Geo-Political Zones of the country; the recent Retreat in Owerri, Imo State, to prepare officers for the 2023 general elections.
The IGP carried out deliberate protocol to identify, elevate and position professionally competent officers to strategic positions, general and specialized training for officers. Also, there was the training for Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) in Lagos and Kano states organized in collaboration with a German development agency, GIZ.
For effective combatant law enforcement operations, IGP Usman Alkali Baba developed geo-mapping of crime in the country, putting in place various measures to arrest the trend of crime and criminality.
He created the Operation Puff Adder II to reinforce the fight against banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes in the North-West and North-Central; Operation Restore Peace in the South-South and South-East, to ensure public safety, public order and constitutional authority in the area.
Intelligence-guided operations involving intelligence sharing amongst key security agencies; community engagements and public engagements to weaken recruitment drives of criminals were also set up under his watch.
To accomplish this, IGP Usman Alkali Baba initiated a Police Campaign against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV); and the deployment of technology through the Nigeria Police National Command and Control Centre (NPF-C4i), Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Database (NPC&IDB) Centre, etc. He further set up the NPF Rescue me app made available on android and IOS platforms for the reportage of crimes, unprofessional conducts of Police Officers, and to contact an ambulance in the case of an emergency.
The IGP carried out coordinated mop-up of illicit weapons to curtail small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation in Nigeria.
The operation which involved search on factories where such weapons are being manufactured locally, and distributed to criminals.
The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba conferred with the honour of Man of The Year at the National Daily Awards held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria island, Lagos, on May 12, 2023, where former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the Special Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker, while Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi was Chairman.