A new Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, has assumed duty after his appointment to head Akwa Ibom State Police Command.
This was made known in a statement by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Timfon John.
Born in Azare Katagum LGA of Bauchi State, Nigeria, CP Azare holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the prestigious Bayero University, Kano, a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration and another Masters degree in Crime Management, Prevention and Control, from the same Institution.
CP Azare got enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and was trained at the prestigious Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano, where he graduated with an excellent result.
A passionate and detribalized Nigerian, he has traversed the country, serving in sensitive and challenging positions, with dedication and loyalty to his fatherland.
Some of the places he has served include all the major departments of the Nigeria Police Force, such as administration, investigation, operations and specialised units.
He served as a detective in General Investigation Section of the Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) Kano, and later in the Anti-Fraud Section of the same Department of the Command.
He was then redeployed to serve at the State Traffic Office of Kano State Police Command, during which the metropolis enjoyed free flow of traffic at their busy and hitherto congested traffic points, especially during festivities.
Following his distinguished performance in the various offices he served, his excelling relationship with members of the public, and proficient communication skills, CP Azare was posted as the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, where he was retained for about seven years.
Upon finishing as the PPRO in Kano State, he was posted as the Personal Assistant to late DIG Ganiyu Ali Dawodu, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the FCID, from 2010 to 2012.
His versatile experience and zero tolerance to corruption took him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Headquarters (EFCC) Abuja, where he was seconded from 2012 to 2016, serving variously as the Head of the Counter Terrorism and General Investigation Unit, Head of Enforcement Non-Designated Financial Institutions, and the Special Assistant on Media to the EFCC Executive Chairman in the year 2016.
CP Azare was thereafter deployed back to the Nigeria Police Force, and was posted to head the Anti-Human Trafficking Section of the Police in the Force CID, Abuja, FCT.
He was later posted to the Nigeria Police Training School Bauchi as the Commandant from 2017 to 2019. Between year 2020 to 2021 he served in the Operations Department of Gombe State Police Command as the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations (AC Ops).
From 2021 to 2022 he served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Western Port Authority Lagos, from where he was redeployed to Anambra State Command as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department (State CID) Awka, from 2022 to 2023.
In the latter part of 2023, he was posted as the DC X-Squad at the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex Lagos, the apex investigative body of the Nigeria Police, with the mandate of ensuring detectives’ compliance with international best practices and standard investigative guidelines and procedures.
In 2023, CP Mohammed Azare was redeployed to Akwa Ibom State Command as the DC Operations, in charge of the Operations Department, where he served until his recent promotion to the rank of a Commissioner of Police in December 2024.
His tenure in Akwa Ibom State Command witnessed policing at its best, mopping up several offensive firearms and arresting criminal suspects, as a result of which the State enjoyed relative peace to the admiration of all Peace loving people in the state and beyond.
CP Azare has attended several highly esteemed courses in Riot and Crowd Control, Leadership, Mentorship, Law Enforcement and Prosecution, within and outside Nigeria, some of which are the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Training Course in Gwoza, Borno State, Citizenship and Leadership Training Course at Shere Hills Jos
Other training courses attended by CP Azare include Financial Investigation Techniques, Money Laundering and Tracing of Terrorist Finances Course in the United States of America (USA) in 2012.
He has also attended Financial Investigation Course in Ghana, Strategic Intelligence Analysis Course in Canada, and obtained a Diploma in Financial Investigation at Madrid, Spain.
The new Akwa Ibom CP returned to the United States of America (USA) where he attended a Seminar on Financial Investigation and Prosecution, Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
In 2015, he attended Mentorship Training at the EFCC Academy Karu, Abuja.
The Commissioner of Police capped these achievements with a one year course at the National Institute for Security Studies in Bwari, Abuja, where he obtained the prized appellation of fellow security institute (fsi).
CP Azare holds the traditional Title of “Sarkin Noman Katagum,” the first of its kind in Bauchi State.
CP Azare is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR and can be reached on 09055555596.
His hobbies include horse riding, reading, travelling and listening to music.
He is happily married with children.
