In 1954, he began his career with the Nigeria Police Force as a constable. He rose to become a police commissioner in 1984.
Fulani Kwajafa, a retired police commissioner and former Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has died at the age of 88.
Nuhu Fulani Kwajafa, his son and Director General of the Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care (GIPLC), confirmed this in an Instagram post on Thursday, October 24, saying, “This morning, my beloved father passed away at the age of 88yrs. I thank God for his life, and his contributions to our great country, Nigeria. We will deeply miss you, dad… Rest In Peace, Fulani Kwajafa OFR.”
He was responsible for creating the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (now defunct).
In 1954, he began his career with the Nigeria Police Force as a constable. He rose to become a police commissioner in 1984.
In 1991, Kwajafa was appointed NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
In an interview with BBC Hausa in October 2020, he expressed disappointment over how SARS had deviated from its founding purpose, stating, “This is not why we created SARS, the reason is completely different, this is not the purpose.”
Kwajafa recalled that he developed SARS in response to a surge in robberies, fulfilling a directive from then Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, who had urged him to combat the rampant crime.
He explained, “Mr Inyang called me and told me to come up with a plan to save the country from thieves, so I said okay.”
However, the unit’s reputation deteriorated over time, becoming notorious for human rights abuses, which sparked nationwide protests. Reflecting on this, Kwajafa said, “This thing frustrates me, there is no reason why because someone commits a crime that the person should be killed.”
He continued, “When I am mentioned as the creator of SARS, I feel ashamed. It’s a thing of regret for me. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have created it.”
Leave a Reply