A confirmed plot to exit the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, is on, sources close to Arase confirmed their awareness of the plot.
An Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) from the South is being packaged as his replacement, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Multiple sources involved on both sides (pro and anti-Arase forces) also confirmed the thickening plot.
The move to ease Arase out before his retirement next year was being coordinated by a leading figure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the southern part of the country.
His main ally is a retired top-cop who now is in custody of certain sacred traditional institution.
Before the APC top-notcher jetted out of the country last week, he reportedly directed the projected replacement to see a tradition custodian who is expected to take him to a retired IGP from the North.
The retired IGP is well respected and reportedly close to President Muhammadu Buhari.
A few weeks back, the camp of the proposed successor met in Lagos to review plans and strategies.
The APC chieftain was said to be initially packaging a northerner who recently served as commissioner of police in a South-Western state before his elevation as AIG.
The move-over to the southerner was said to be occasioned by the reality that the North could not have the position again without widespread uproar.
Checks at the presidency showed that the issue had been mentioned but nothing had been concluded.
At influential quarters around the seat-of-power, those pushing for the said AIG reportedly drew negative.
A few years back, the said AIG ran into public storm over an alleged criminal conduct in a sector outside of the force, ultimately leading to his exit from a plum job.
A court of law eventually cleared him of any wrongdoings and he has since bagged both professional and positional promotion.
