Meet Ciroma and Mba, newly appointed DIGs
The Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the appointment of two remarkable Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) Frank Mba and Bala Ciroma as Deputy Inspectors General of Police.
DIG Bala Ciroma
Bala Ciroma, a native of Potiskum Local Government of Yobe State has been described as a shrewd crack detective, who has been praised for carrying out multiple successful criminal investigations.
He is said to have demonstrated a penchant for diligence in the over 30 years he has been in the Police Force.
Education
Ciroma had his primary and secondary education in Lagos and Kaduna. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Geography from the University of Maiduguri.
He is an Alumni of Hong Kong University where he bagged a Post Graduate Certificate in Corruption Studies. He is also a member of the Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE).
Career
He enrolled in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in March 1990 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
On 26th June 2018, Bala Ciroma assumed duty as the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, after being promoted to Commissioner.
READ ALSO: Police promote Ciroma, Mba to DIG, other senior officers
Before his new assignment as Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, he was serving as the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department in Abuja.
Ciroma was also at a time the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Welfare) in the Finance and Administration Department at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
He was between 2012 and 2013, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, FCT Command, and Assistant Commissioner of Police, IGP Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters.
Ciroma also spent time between 2011 and 2012 as Assistant Commissioner of Police, CID, Kano State Command, and from 2004 to 2008 he was Head of Operations at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
As of 2016, he was a member of the Police Service Commission (PSC) that promoted four Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police.
He was a member of a Police committee inaugurated by the IGP to review the Nigeria Police investment companies and subsidiaries and produce a white paper within a month in 2016.
Investigations
Shortly before his appointment as the FCT CP, he headed a high-powered crack investigation team set up on July 3, 2018, to investigate the killing of seven policemen in Abuja. The policemen were killed on Monday, July 2, 2018, around 9 pm at the Galadimawa Roundabout, not far from the city centre.
He also led investigators to arrest an infamous armed robbery gang led by one Dr. Ola Solomon Jimade (now at large), the proprietor of Vital Care Hospital, Kubwa, Abuja. Several members of the gang were arrested, including one Sunday Okhomode, who coordinated their robberies by blaring car horns at gatemen who then open the gates for them assuming they are members of the household.
He also investigated the case of Maryam Sanda and her mother, Maimuna Aliyu.
Maryam Sanda was tried for the murder of her husband Bilyamin Bello, Bilyamin was the son of a former PDP Chairman, Bello Haliru.
DIG Frank Mba
The newly promoted Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Frank Mba, is a Nigerian lawyer and police officer who has been praised for his distinguished eloquence while serving as the Force’s Public Relations Officer (FPRO).
Frank Mba hails from Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State. After obtaining his First School Leaving Certificate, he enrolled at the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano where he had his initial police training.
He graduated as the best cadet inspector in academics at the Police Academy, Kano, in 1993.
He studied law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and was called to the Nigerian bar in 2002. He travelled to Scotland, where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Dundee, Scotland.
He also holds a Certificate in National and International Security from Harvard University, USA, and another from the FBI National Academy, Quantico- USA.
Career
Frank Mba has served in different capacities in the Nigerian police force since his enrollment.
In 1999, Mba was an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in 2003, he was a Superintendent of Police (SP) in 2006, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) in 2012, and an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
He became a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in 2019 and a Commissioner of Police (CP) in 2020.
Professional Courses
Frank Mba was an ex-member of the Nigeria Police Contingent to the United Nations Peace-Keeping Mission in Liberia. He won the prestigious UN Medal during his sojourn with the United Nations.
The Inspector General of Police also nominated him to participate in the professional course for police officers at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Jos.
He attended the Entering Violent Extremism and Police Leadership Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), Roswell, New Mexico, USA, Strategic Leadership and Command Course at Police Staff College, Jos, and Crisis and Disaster Management Course, Israel.
Others are Managing the Media in Crisis Situations, School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, US-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program, with special focus on International Crime Issues, Washington DC, General Criminal Investigation Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), Botswana and Middle Management Course on Global Peace Operations in Vicenza, Italy.
