A former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, has died.

Sources said the former IGP died at the Cedarcrest Hospital Abuja.

There were no official confirmation at the time of filing this report.

His telephone line, an Airtel number rang out at exactly 12:27pm when our correspondent called.

A message sent to the police spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi to know if the police establishment was aware was not responded to at the time of filing this report.

A source reported that Arase had travelled to an African country from where he was flown back to Abuja on Friday after falling ill.

The nature of his reported illness was not known.

Arase was born on June 21, 1956, in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Arase.

He studied Political Science at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1980. He joined the Nigeria Police Force on December 1, 1981, after which he bagged a Law degree from the University of Benin and a Master’s degree from the University of Lagos.
He held several strategic positions, including Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of intelligence. He also represented Nigeria in Namibia during a United Nations peacekeeping mission and was a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

Arase retired from the Police on June 21, 2016, after attaining the statutory retirement age. In January 2023, he was appointed Chairman of the Police Service Commission by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, before being removed from the role in June 2024 by President Bola Tinubu.