President Bola Tinubu has mourned the death of a former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, who passed away on Sunday.

Arase, 69, served as the 18th indigenous IGP and died in a private hospital in Abuja.

Tinubu, in a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, commiserated with the Nigeria Police Force, as well as the family, friends, and associates of the late security chief.

The President described him as a “highly resourceful officer” whose legacy of reforms left an enduring impact on the nation’s policing system.

“Arase served the police force meritoriously from 1981 to 2016. During his career, he led tactical, operational, and intelligence units, including United Nations Peacekeeping in Namibia, the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, and the Principal Staff Officer to three IGPs,” he said.

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Similarly, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has paid a condolence visit to the family of the deceased IGP in Abuja and extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, to the family, friends, and former colleagues of Arase.

Egbetokun said he was saddened by Arase’s death.

“IGP Kayode Egbetokun acknowledges the deep pain of this loss and prays for comfort, strength, and peace for all in this time of grief, while appreciating the contributions of the late Police boss to Police reforms and National Security,” a statement by the police partly read.

‎Egbetokun said Arase’s memory “will forever remain etched in the heart of the Force and the country he so faithfully served”.

IGP Solomon Arase, born in 1956 in the Owan West Local Government of Edo State, attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he earned his first degree in Political Science.

He later obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Benin, a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Lagos, and a Ph.D in Public Law from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State.

He was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on the 1st of December, 1981.‎

He was appointed the 18th indigenous Inspector-General of Police in April 2015 and retired in June 2016.

He was thereafter appointed the Chairman of the Police Service Commission on the 24th January, 2023 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, a post which he held until June 2024.

During his tenure as the Inspector-General of Police, he introduced major initiatives for the reform and improvement of the Force, such as the Complaint Response Unit for swift responses to public complaints and adequate protection of citizens’ rights.