Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has reportedly died at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja.
Details surrounding his death remain sketchy as neither his family nor the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has officially confirmed the development.
Arase, Nigeria’s 18th Inspector-General of Police, served from April 2015 to June 2016 before retiring from active service. He was later appointed Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) in January 2023 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, a position he held until June 2024 when President Bola Tinubu replaced him.
Born on June 21, 1956, in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Arase studied Political Science at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1980. He joined the Nigeria Police Force on December 1, 1981, and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Benin as well as a master’s degree from the University of Lagos.
He headed the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau before becoming IGP, also serving as Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Intelligence.
Arase also had an international stint under a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Namibia and was a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). He retired from the Force on June 21, 2016, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.
More details on his passing are expected from his family and police authorities.
