TheCable

Suleiman Abba, sacked inspector-general of police, has begged for forgiveness from those he offended in the course of discharging his duties, saying he wants to put the past behind him and move on with his life.

Abba made this appeal in Abuja on Wednesday at a brief ceremony where he formally handed over the baton of leadership of the Nigeria police to Solomon Arase.

Abba, who was relieved of his appointment as IGP on Tuesday, said he knew he had offended some people.

“I want to move on with my life believing that life has more steps and journeys,” he said.

“I want to appeal to those who we offended, maybe owing to poor judgement, for understanding. For those who feel offended, find a place to forgive us. It is God who judges.”

Abba described the appointment of Arase as “a well-deserved appointment for Nigeria” and thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for “appointing him and seeing him out at this time”.

He also thanked all stakeholders in the 2015 general election for making it peaceful, and urged all officers of the police to give the new IGP more support than they gave to him.

“I hope that one day, we will see a complete change in the attitude of police officers in the country,” he said.

“I know in no distant time the police will have all its needs so that our boys will not continue to face hazards while working.”

Jonathan fired Abba as IGP on Tuesday after a combined nine months in acting and substantive capacity. His tenure was dogged by a number of controversial decisions.