The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday.
Baba is taking over from Mohammed Adamu, whose tenure Buhari extended for three months on February 4.
He has only spent about two months out of the three-month extension.
Adamu was on Tuesday sacked as the Inspector-General of Police shortly after visiting the Imo Police Command headquarters and the Owerri Correctional Service that were burnt on Monday.
The former IGP had during his visit to the scene of the attack ordered operatives to be ruthless against members of the proscribed Independent People of Biafra.
Recall that Dingyadi had on Febrùary 4 announced the extension of Adamu’s tenure for three months.
When asked why the President did not allow the outgoing IGP to last the three months of extension, the minister said, “Mr President is aware of this and you cannot take away that responsibility from him; he’s the one who is in charge of appointing or extending tenures.
“He has now decided to appoint a new person. So please allow him that responsibility and we cannot do anything about it.”
In announcing Baba’s appointment, the minister recalled that the extension granted Adamu was to allow for a detailed process of appointing a new IGP in line with Section 15 (A) of the 1999 Constitution.
He said, “After a thorough check of a shortlist of suitably qualified police officers from the rank of DIGs and AIGs, who are eligible police officers, eligible for appointment as IGP, in line with Section 7, subsection 2 of the Nigeria Police Act (2020), and having regards to seniority, professionalism, record of service and competence, Mr President has approved the appointment of an acting IGP, in the person of Usman Alkali Baba, with immediate effect.
“These changes are in line with the determination of Mr President to rejig the security architecture of the country, to ensure that the security challenges bedevilling the nation are brought to an end.
“Mr President has therefore charged the new appointee to rise to the challenge to ensure policing reform policy of this administration is fully prioritised and implemented to enable the police to perform most effectively for the peace and security of lives and property of all Nigerians.
Born on March 1, 1963 in Gaidam, Yobe State, the acting IGP enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on March 15, 1988.
He was, until his new appointment, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters.
He holds a Teacher’s Grade II Certificate (TC II) from Teachers College, Potiskum, Yobe State in 1980.
He obtained a degree in Political Science from Bayero University, Kano in 1985.
The Acting IGP also has a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) obtained from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State in 1997.
The Central Planning Committee for the official unveiling of the book, The Courage to Reform: Architecture of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Beyond 2027 — Statecraft, Vision for National Renewal, has announced Tuesday, December 1, 2026, as the new date for the highly anticipated ceremony.
