By Adekunle Adebayo
CP Aderemi Adeoye (Rtd) served in various capacities in the Nigerian Police Force at home and abroad. The journey which started on 1st May 1989 ended on 1st May 2024.
After 35 years of selfless and meritorious service to the Nation, the retired Police Chief has very interesting experience to share.
In an exclusive interview with African Trust Magazine which named him Man of the Year for 2023, CP Adeoye, a seasoned security professional has this to say: “It was an interesting, fulfilling and memorable journey”.
In his words, “It was one that empowered me with valuable skills, knowledge and ability and for which I remain grateful to the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian government.”
On events in his career that are memorable, the Police Chief recounted a number of events. Going down memory lane, he said one of the most exciting period of his career was when he served with the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He noted that he was initially the Police Logistics Officer and later elevated to the position of Police Coordinator and Head of Police Component at the African Union Commission Headquarters where he served for almost five years. During that period he was also a consultant to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as it developed its Stability Policing Concept. He was routinely invited to Conferences and Field Exercises of NATO in Europe. He was also Guest Speaker at Conferences of the Italian Carabinieri. He delivered papers at its Conferences in Milan and Vicenza.
During that period he also served as Resource Person to Afripol. He made presentations at AFRIPOL Conferences which usually held in Algeria.
He also had the priviledge of addressing the IGPs of UN Member States at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York in his capacity as AU Police Coordinator.
By virtue of his position as Head of Police Component in AU he led many AU delegations to African Union Member States across the continent to assess the suitability of their police personnel for service in AU mission in Somalia either as individual Police Officers (IPOs) or as Formed Police Units.
He explained that another period that remains memorable was when he served in Maiduguri as a Sector Commander with the Military Joint Task Force.
He said during his tour of duty, his team foiled three car suicide bombing attempts on the police headquarters in Maiduguri without suffering any fatalities on their side.
He recalled his time in Port Harcourt when he was 2i/c in Swift Operations Squad when he infiltrated a gun-running syndicate and at the end of the operation recovered 56 military assault rifles while the gun runners were arrested and prosecuted.
He recounted a kidnap operation that was foiled in Port Harcourt in which they smashed a kidnap gang recruited by a man whose uncle sold land to an oil service company and he was after the huge amount paid to his Uncle by the Oil Service Company. After the gang was smashed and all those involved were arrested Military Intelligence Officers came from Abuja to interrogate two of the suspects who claimed to be military personnel. They were eventually handed over for military discipline.
He explained that in the early part of his career when he served in Anambra State for 10 years, he handled several high profile cases while he was in the state CID.
He narrated, “There was one involving robbery at government warehouse of Agricultural Development Project (ADP) Warehouse where hundreds of Grundfos Submersible pumps procured by the State Government for agricultural projects were carted away at night. “The case was investigated and the pumps were traced to Warri, Lagos and Ogwashiukwu.
“We recovered not only all the pumps that were stolen during that incident, we also recovered those that were stolen previously from the same warehouse.
“So It has been a memorable journey for me with good and fond memories.”
However, it was not always smooth sailing.
According to him, his team suffered a few casualties during some of the operations. He commended the heroism, bravery and sacrifice of the personnel who laid down their lives in service of the Nation.
He remembered a personnel who served under him when he was the Divisonal Crime Officer at CPS Nnewi in the 90s. The personnel who was posted with two others on guard duty at Limca Depot was shot by armed robbers and his pistol stolen. According to CP Adeoye (Rtd) “We investigated that case and what led to identifying those who killed him was the blood stain of the late corporal that was found on the pump action gun recovered from the suspects. “Forensic analysis indicated that the blood on the pump action gun matched that of the personnel that was shot and killed during the robbery attack. So that was how we connected the suspects to the crime and transferred them to State CID, Awka.”
He recalled that there was another operation in the mid-90s at Umuleri when he was commanding Anambara State troopers. He and the then Commander 29PMF Awka now AIG Abang (Rtd) led the operation. At the end of the operation the Joint Team recovered 16 rifles and other exhibits. On their way out of the Community, they were ambushed and one of his men a visiting mobile police officer was shot dead while a constable was wounded. The ambush was repelled and the attackers were neutralised.
He regretted that these were some of the bad memories he had during his career.
Nonetheless, he said he appreciates the gallantry of his men and the sacrifice to the nation displayed by the personnel who lost their lives, noting that it could have been himself because he always led from the front to inspire his men in such operations.
On his contributions to humanity after service, the retired Police chief explained that he intend to create jobs and contribute to the growth of the economy
He explained that while in service, he gave his best to the Nation and in retirement he will contribute to the Nation’s development with focus on the economy.
He disclosed that the Board of Trustees of the Investment Club which he founded in 2018 are strategising on the Club transforming to a holding company in view of his retirement from Service and it will soon be a noticeable player in the economy.
