Nigeria's first ever female state police commissioner Rotimi Adelesi assumes office in Kwara

ROTIMI Adelesi has assumed office as Nigeria's first ever state police commissioner after taking up her duty as the head of the Kwara State Police Command in Ilorin taking over from Paul Odama who has been promoted to assistant inspector-general.

Ms Adelesi, who hails from Sagamu in Ijebu Remo Local Government Area of Ogun State, is a graduate of Ogun State University. Kwara State Police Command spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi, said that Ms Adelesi was first appointed to the Nigeria Police Force on March 3, 1990, as a cadet assistant superintendent of police.

He added: “She has worked in several police commands and formations within and outside the country, where she held several command positions at various times. Police commissioner Adelesi, attended Federal Government College Kaduna for her O’ Levels and A’ Levels Certificates.

“She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language from Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University and she also holds an Advanced Diploma in Strategic Security and Infrastructure Protection from the University of Lagos. She has served in various challenging capacities across many states of the federation and was on a United Nations peacekeeping missions to Liberia and Dafur.

“She has also presented conference papers at United Nations-sponsored conferences, mainly for women in peacekeeping missions in Mogadishu, Somalia. Over the course of her service to the country, the commissioner of police held several positions, including that of divisional crime officer at Sabongeri Police Station, Katsina."

Among other things, Ms Adelesi is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police USA and a Fellow of the Institute of Security, Nigeria. She is reputed to be a no-nonsense and highly disciplined person and a hardworking and detribalised professional officer.