‘Everything Is By The Grace Of God’ – IGP Egbetokun Says As He…
- DIG Akinyosola also decorated, voluntarily retires
By Oki Samson
It is an eventful day at the Nigeria Police Force Headqurters as the acting Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun decorates with new ranks Sylvester Abiodun Alabi as the new Deputy Inspector of Police, DIG In charge of Southwest as well as DIG Matthew Akinyosola who heads into voluntary retirement.
The seasoned Police Officer, DIG Sylvester Abiodun Alabi has garnered vast experience in policing both within and outside Nigeria since enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force as Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on 3rd March, 1990, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.
Speaking at the decoration ceremony, Ag. IGP Kayode Egbetokun noted: ‘Today is another special day that I have the privilege of decorating two new DIGs but some people will ask why two (2) DIGs on same day? The policy of the Force is that the most senior officer from each of the geopolitical zone is automatically appointed as DIG of the zone. But today we have two of them from Southwest.’
‘The position of DIG Southwest is vacant and by policy of the Force, the most senior is DIG Matthew Akinyosola. His name was forwarded to the Police Service Commission and his appointment was approved but DIG Matthew Akinyosola decided to exit the Force by his choice therefore making available another slot for the Southwest. The most senior officer then happened to be the AIG of Zone 12, his name was approved by the PSC. Today he is being decorated. Matthew Akinyosola is on retirement while Sylvester Abiodun Alabi take the position for Southwest. The two of them are well-experienced’, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP gathered during the ceremony at the Force HQ.
‘I am happy that DIG Alabi is ready to work with me. I expect much from him and I trust that he will not disappoint. Promotion comes with responsibility, I charge you to take the role as such. When people congratulate me for a well-deserved role as IGP, I told them I don’t see anything in this life as deserving. Everything is by the Grace of God. Without God you can’t even get what you deserve. That you are alive to get what you deserve is the Grace of God. So I believe we should give thanks to God. I wish all of us well’, Egbetokun concluded.
DIG Sylvester Abiodun Alabi has served in various capacities in the Nigeria Police Force within and outside Nigeria. This include AIG Zone 12 (Bauchi and Gombe), AIG Zone 2 (Lagos and Ogun), Commissioner of Police in Lagos State Command, and Commissioner of Police in Bauchi State Command. He also served outside the country notably the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 2001.
DIG Alabi was mobilised into the elite Police Mobile Force as Unit Commander in August 2001. In April 2004, he became Squadron Commander of Police Mobile Force Squadron 43 Lagos (Diplomatic Protection Squadron) in charge of the security of all Embassies in Lagos. He was demobilised from the Police Mobile Force in June 2009 as a Chief Superintendent of Police and subsequently posted to Lion Building Divisional Headquarters as the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and later redeployed as the DPO of Ikeja Divisional Headquarters, Lagos respectively.
In September 2013, he was Promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police and deployed to Force Headquarters Abuja as ACP Admin Police Mobile Force.
NAOSNP can reliably confirm that DIG Abiodun Alabi attended several courses among which are Junior Command Course, Intermediate Command Course, Leadership and Senior Management Course. In June 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police and posted to Taraba State Police Command as DCP Administration before his subsequent posting to Bayelsa State Command as the Deputy Commissioner of Police Administration in July 2017.
In December 2018, he was posted to Ekiti State Command as the Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, from where he was later nominated for the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, Course 28. At the completion of his Higher Defence and Strategic Course at the National Defence College, Abiodun Alabi was promoted to the rank of the Commissioner of Police (CP) and deployed to the Central Criminal Registry (CCR), Force CID Annex, Alagbon, Lagos.
Sylvester Abiodun Alabi is a lover of education. NAOSNP can report that after his primary and secondary school education in 1982, he gained admission into the University of Lagos where he studied sociology and obtained Bachelor of Science with Second Class Upper Degree. His thirst for quality education motivated him to enroll and obtained his Masters Degree Course at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife between 1988 and 1989. He is a member of Nigeria Institute of Management (mnim), and Fellow of National Defence College (fdc), Abuja.
He has won several prestigious award within and outside the country. In 2022, he was voted and conferred with the honor as NAOSNP Best Commissioner of Police in Nigeria by the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP.
