Buhari appoints Umar as counter-terrorism adviser 18 days to expiration of tenure

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Garba Umar, as a Senior Security Adviser on International Police Cooperation and Counter-terrorism.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity the President, Garba Shehu, who confirmed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the position is domiciled in the office of the Minister of Police Affairs.

The appointment, according to Shehu, will take effect on May 16.

The president made the appointment just 18 days before the end of his tenure.

Buhari will complete his eight-year rule as Nigeria’s president on May 29.

Umar is the Vice President of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) for Africa as well as the head of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Nigeria.

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He also served as the Commissioner of Police for INTERPOL in Nigeria.

The statement read: “In approving his appointment, President Buhari took note of a precedent in which a former executive member, AIG Kamal Subair (Rtd) was retained in service by the federal government of Nigeria after retirement in 2018.

“President Buhari also took note of the fact that during his tenure as a member of the executive committee, AIG Umar assisted Nigeria in many ways, with the hope that in the remaining one year, he will even do more in securing equipment for crimes, border management and counter-terrorism for the country and in helping to get more Nigerians into important positions in the INTERPOL.”

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