Abuja — Inspector General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero has given credence to the theory that a drug baron may have been responsible for the December 21, 2001 assasination of the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the IG disclosed that the police now have in their custody, the drug baron who was the mastermind and sponsor of the murder of the former Attorney-General who was killed in his country home in Ibadan.

According to the IG, the drug baron who was serving a 30-year jail term had organized the brutal murder of Ige from the prison.

Ehindero explained that police findings showed that the said drug baron had imported 13 containers of hard substances into the nation, but these containers were intercepted and seized by security operatives.

He said investigations revealed that the said baron was fingered as the importer of the hard drugs.

"The drug baron, who assumed he was above the law made entreaties to the office of late Chief Bola Ige, which was in charge of the investigation to get his containers released.

"But Ige was adamant and ordered that the investigations be carried out. The drug baron was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison from where he arranged the plot to have Ige eliminated", the IG said.

Ehindero further said the suspects who carried out the killing have been found and would be paraded to the public with the drug baron on Thursday, May 24, 2007.

He added that "this monumental breakthrough was achieved with the dexterity of police detectives and forensic experts".

President Olusegun Obasanjo had during a radio programme, "The President Explain on Sunday" at the weekend suggested that Ige's murder could be linked to the trial of a drug baron.

This statement had irked reactions from prominent Nigerians including Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and the daughter of late Ige, Mrs Funsho Adegbola who said the President's statement "potrays him as someone being haunted by the ghost of Ige", adding that "ultimately, the truth about the killing would be known to Nigerians".

Also listing the achievements of his two and half years in office, Ehindero disclosed that "269 bank robbery suspects were apprehended, and N29 million, $35,000, 8,300 United Kingdom pounds and 3,240 euros were recovered.

Police anti-crime measures, he added, resulted in the arrest of 6237 armed robbery suspects, while police teams recovered 4897 firearms, 905,948 rounds of ammunition and 1486 stolen vehicles.

Commenting on the 2007 general election, IGP gave a pass mark to the police for a successful discharge of their duty in providing a peaceful and enabling environment for the conduct of the elections.

He also said reorientation of the Nigerian police has brought about less incidents of accidental discharges from mishandled firearms, unnecessary use of force, and illegal collection of "20 naira" at check points.

Meanwhile, Justice Umaru Kaigo, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court has called on the Federal Government to appoint the most senior deputy Inspector-General (DIG), of the six DIG's, to succeed Ehindero.

Kaigo, who chairs the Presidential Police Reforms Committee, stated this at the public presentation of the books," My Adventures in Policing" and "The Nigeria Police and Civil Society", both written by Ehindero.

He added that appointing a low rank DIG would force his seniors to go onto compulsory retirement which is detrimental to the force as everyone must come together to continue the developmental process the force is undergoing.

He commended Ehindero's tenure which he said introduced various innovations in the police force.

In a related development, Ehindero has said President Obasanjo has approved the sum of N75 million for disbursement as an Endowment Fund for the children of the police officers who lost their lives during the April elections, and he distributed cheques to their families. The total value of the cheques was given as about N18 million.