New Police Commissioner Appointed For State
The Nigeria Police Force has appointed Ibrahim Zungura as the new Commissioner of Police in Osun State, replacing Ibrahim Gotan who has been redeployed from the command.
The change comes less than two weeks after the Osun governorship election held on August 15, following months of criticism surrounding the neutrality of the state police command under Gotan.
The new development was confirmed by the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, who said the command would release an official statement detailing the new appointments and Gotan’s transfer.
Zungura was among 17 Deputy Commissioners of Police promoted to the rank of Commissioner of Police by the Police Service Commission in July.
Before his deployment to Osun, he served as the Commissioner of Police in charge of Training and Courses at the Police Academy in Kano. His posting to Osun places him in charge of the command at a time when the state is dealing with security concerns linked to the recent governorship election.
Gotan’s tenure in Osun had attracted criticism from political groups and civil society organisations ahead of the election. The administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke had accused the police command of partisan conduct and called for intervention from the Inspector-General of Police.
The controversy also followed complaints from opposition lawmakers and other political actors over the handling of politically related incidents in the state.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had earlier explained that Gotan was removed from election duties after political stakeholders raised concerns about their confidence in his neutrality. He said the move was not a disciplinary action but was aimed at restoring confidence in the police ahead of the election.
On July 31, the police had deployed Samuel Erale as the Commissioner of Police responsible for election security in Osun. Gotan was allowed to remain as the substantive commissioner and continued overseeing the routine operations of the command.
Eralе was responsible for coordinating security operations during the August 15 election, while thousands of police personnel were deployed across the state’s 30 local government areas and polling units.
With Zungura now taking over the command, Gotan will not return to his previous position after the election as earlier planned by the police.
The latest change is similar to developments before the 2022 Osun governorship election, when the then Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, was temporarily redeployed following complaints about the handling of security issues.
Julius Alawari was subsequently deployed to oversee the Osun command during that election period.
