By Christopher Oji
Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police Ari Mohammed Ali has said that he retired meritoriously from the police force and was not discharged over allegations of corruption.
In a statement by his media aide, Ibrahim Anas Alemani, he explained that he was reacting to a story that has gone viral online claiming that he was discharged from the police force on account of age falsification and violation of service rules.
Alemani said the report was completely false, misleading and a deliberate attempt to soil Ali’s good name and dent his incredible records.
According to him, the DIG retired from service without blemish as he served the force meritoriously and built his career as a distinguished police officer.
“He served excellently in various capacities in the Nigeria Police Force and would not want to be drawn into such malicious and mischievous publications. “However, to avoid any doubt and for the public and his supporters not to be misled, it is important to put the records straight: DIG Ari Mohammed Ali (rtd) was enlisted into the NPF on March 3, 1990, as a member of Course 16, Cadet ASP. He trained in the elite Police Academy, Kaduna State. He served in various capacities in the force, during which he won numerous awards due to his dedication and leadership style.
“He served in Delta, Bayelsa, Lagos, Rivers and Kano state commands, and also served in the Police Staff College, Jos.
“DIG Ali (rtd) served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in Lagos for three years, during which he won the Security Watch Africa Award of Excellence as the Best Operations Officer in African security in the year 2018; Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria Awards as the Most Outstanding Commissioner of Police of the Year 2021, and Security Watch Africa Conference Award as the Most Outstanding Crime-bursting Police Chief in West Africa that took place in Banjul in 2022.
“While serving in Delta State Command as the 20th Commissioner of Police, from 2021 to 2023, the state became one of the safest states in Nigeria.
“He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in the year 2023 and was posted to Zone 2 Command, in charge of Lagos and Ogun states. He was later deployed to Force Headquarters as the AIG, Community Policing, in January 2024, where he served diligently until his posting to Kano State as the AIG, Zone 1, Kano, where he served the good people of Kano State as he has always done during his police career.
“He was promoted to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police on November 20, 2024, and was posted as DIG in charge of Operations Department, Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, from where he retired after attaining the mandatory 60 years in age and 35 years in service to the force.
“It is pertinent to reiterate that DIG Ali, a PhD holder from Irish University, Penbroke Square, United Kingdom, was enlisted into the force on March 3, 1990, and retired meritoriously on March 1, 2025,” he said.