Former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, is dead. He reportedly passed away at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja at the age of 69.
Details surrounding his death remain sketchy as of the time of filing this report, as neither his family nor the Nigeria Police Force has issued an official statement.
Arase, who was 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 (PSC) by former President Muhammadu Buhari, a position he held until June 2024 when he was removed by President Bola Tinubu.
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. He later obtained a Law degree from the University of Benin and a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos.
Before his appointment as IGP, he served in various capacities, including Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Intelligence. He also headed the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, the Force’s elite intelligence unit.
Arase also had an international stint, serving in Namibia under a United Nations peacekeeping mission. He was a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The retired police chief bowed out of service on June 21, 2016, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.
