August 31, (THEWILL) — Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and one-time Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase, has passed away at the age of 69.
Although the family and the Nigeria Police Force are yet to issue an official statement, THEWILL gathered that the former police chief died on Sunday at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja.
Arase, Nigeria’s 18th Inspector-General of Police, served between April 2015 and June 2016 before retiring from active service. In January 2023, he was appointed Chairman of the Police Service Commission by then President Muhammadu Buhari, a position he held until June 2024 when President Bola Tinubu removed him.
Born on June 21, 1956, in Sabogida-Ora, 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 later earned a Law degree from the University of Benin and a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos.
Before his appointment as IGP, Arase headed the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the Force’s top intelligence unit. He also served as Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State and as Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Intelligence.
His career included international service under a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Namibia. A Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Arase retired from the Police Force on June 21, 2016, after attaining the mandatory retirement age.
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