Abiodun Sylvester Alabi Biography: Meet New Lagos Commissioner of Police

• Lagos has gotten new commissioner of police.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Mr Abiodun Sylvester Alabi has been appointed as the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has deployed CP Alabi Sylvester Abiodun to replace AIG Hakeem Odumosu as Lagos state Commissioner of Police.

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Mr Alabi is the immediate past Commissioner of Police for Bauchi State, has been Squadron commander of many years & DPO, Lion Building & Ikeja police stations.

 

Who is Sylvester Abiodun Alabi?

A seasoned Police Officer with vast experience in policing both within and outside Nigeria, Sylvester Abiodun Alabi hails from Ekiti State.

He was born on 31st December 1964 to the family of Mr Owoeye and Mrs Alice Alabi of blessed memory.

Education

After his primary and secondary school education in 1982, He gained admission into the University of Lagos where he studied sociology and obtained Bachelor of Science with Second Class Upper Degree.

His thirst for quality education motivated him to enroll and obtained his Masters Degree Course at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife between 1988 and 1989.

Career

CP Abiodun was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on 3rd March, 1990. He has since served in various capacities in the Nigeria Police Force within and outside Nigeria, notably among United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 2001. He was mobilised into the elite Police Mobile Force as Unit Commander in August 2001.

In April 2004, he became Squadron Commander of Police Mobile Force Squadron 43 Lagos (Diplomatic Protection Squadron) in charge of the security of all Embassies in Lagos.

CP Abiodun was demobilised from the Police Mobile Force in June 2009 as a Chief Superintendent of Police and subsequently posted to Lion Building Divisional Headquarters as the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and later redeployed as the DPO of Ikeja Divisional Headquarters, Lagos respectively.

In September 2013, he was Promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police and deployed to Force Headquarters Abuja as ACP Admin Police Mobile Force.

CP Abiodun Alabi has attended several courses among which are Junior Command Course, Intermediate Command Course, Leadership and Senior Management Course. In June 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police and posted to Taraba State Police Command as DCP Administration before his subsequent posting to Bayelsa State Command as the Deputy Commissioner of Police Administration in July 2017. In December 2018, he was posted to Ekiti State Command as the Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, from where he was later nominated for the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, Course 28.

At the completion of his Higher Defence and Strategic Course at the National Defence College, CP Abiodun was promoted to the rank of the Commissioner of Police (CP) and deployed to the Central Criminal Registry (CCR), Force CID Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, from where he was transferred to Bauchi State Command as the Commissioner of Police Bauchi.

He is a member of Nigeria Institute of Management (mnim), and Fellow of National Defence College (fdc), Abuja.

Hobbies/Marriage

His hobbies are: playing lawn tennis and watching detective movies. CP Abiodun Sylvester Alabi is married and blessed with children.

Many, who know me, knew I hate writing what could be referred to as “PR Articles” pampering public officeholders. It’s worse if it involves security agents, especially armed security personnel such as the Police and the army—in fact, I have never written one.

But I have written countless articles lampooning the police—mostly because their conduct, especially when it comes to relating with civilians isn’t always palatable.

For example, in my previous write-up about the Bauchi State Police, I have made reference to a December 12, 2019, report where a police officer in Ningi local government area reportedly shot one Sabo Idris who was said to be on his way to mining field at Burra district.

 

Mr Philip Maku was the Bauchi State Police Commissioner at the time. I remember my toxic encounter with him at a press conference where a heated debate ensued when I was pressing hard on accountability.

I have equally interjected in a widely publicized editorial written for WkkiTimes where a popular police officer, SP Baba Yola “consistently keep torturing and extorting citizens” where it was argued that he was enforcing the ban on Okada and covid-19 protocols. The article immediately spiked an urgent intervention from the Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed, who called Baba Yola to order.

 

I can also recall making a reference on how an “angry mob attacked and sent packing, the Dambam Divisional Police officers for allegedly ‘robbing commuters.’”

 

Also, a report on how a township Divisional Police Officer allegedly tortured to death two people for “stealing chickens” is still fresh in our minds.

My major argument most of the time is that the Police aren’t always accountable. They maim and deny. They torture and deny. They extort and deny. They rob and deny. They kill and deny. That remains their modus-operandi in many cases and at all times. They are right in all they do and never shall anyone dare try to hold them to account.

 

But the case is absolutely different with CP Abiodun S. Alabi fdc, psc, mnim, the current number one Police Officer in Bauchi State. I strongly believe CP Alabi’s stride in Bauchi State has to be documented, at least for posterity—since most of the time our system doesn’t reward its best.

In a recent toxic encounter between the police and my good friend, Damina Yusuf (aka Nagari), who was seriously brutalized by some notorious officers while doing his legitimate job, CP Alabi demonstrated uncommon leadership and maturity. He did not only summoned the notorious police officers but had also ensured that they pay the price of their actions.

Many may recall that immediately after Nagari was beaten and got seriously injured by the police, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bauchi State Council pulled out its guns and started spatting a plume of fire—first by issuing a statement condemning the police, staging a boycott and planning what would have been a catastrophic protest and a vote of no confidence on the police in Bauchi.

The CP would have denied that his men were involved. He would have insisted that the police committed no wrong on that day. He would have denied everything and refuse to take blame or responsibility no matter the cost. He would have acted the same way others like him have done in the past—protect his men no matter how culpable they may be; guess what? Nothing would have happened I think.

But CP Alabi, the skilful police officer de-escalated the raging fire and the angry pen-pushers who were ready to ‘trigger-happy’ their pens in sustaining a bad PR for the police. He knew well that the pen is mightier than the sword. Being an honest and learned police officer, he took responsibility for what happened, apologised on behalf of the command, and ensured that the culprits faced the music accordingly—to serve as deterrence to others.

Not to hail and commend this honest and bold decision by CP Alabi is the greatest disservice one can do to one’s pen, because as the saying goes; “reason begets honesty, and honesty if given its head, begets confidence.”

Learning to take responsibility is a leadership gift God bestows on few leaders—and no doubt CP Alabi is one. He has healed the wounds by that singular action he took, and tactically de-escalated an enduring rift between the police and the Bauchi NUJ.

As one nose-dive deeply into his strategy of fighting crime and criminality in Bauchi State, CP Alabi has actively deployed a community engagement strategy more than any Police Commissioner in recent memory. He’s constantly in touch with local communities, especially ones that are seen as flashpoints or hideouts for criminals.

We have seen instances where the CP intensified synergy with traditional rulers which resulted in the arrest of more criminals suspected to have committed various crimes. The recent influx of people from neighbouring Yobe State where remnants of Boko Haram still remain has seen n adoption of a community engagement strategy from the CP—this has contributed to des-escalating tension in those communities as I found out.

I don’t know how many years left in his police career, but what is certain is that the number one Police Officer in Bauchi has a lot to teach the law-enforcement agency—from being smart to taking responsibility and making amends where necessary and community engagement that is tag as one of the best strategies to fight crimes.

While we pray and hope for the best for CP Alabi, I think the police authorities should deliberately deploy some mechanisms to reward its best brains and punish bad elements in the system. This will embolden honest and open minds such as CP Alabi to want to do better.

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