By Charles Pemu 
ABUJA — Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Ehigiator Arase has passed away at the age of 69. Arase, who served as Nigeria’s 18th Inspector-General of Police and later as Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), died at Cedarcrest Hospital in Abuja.
Arase joined the Nigeria Police Force on December 1, 1981, and had a distinguished career, serving in key roles such as Principal Staff Officer to former IGPs and Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State. He retired from the Force on June 21, 2016, and was appointed Chairman of the PSC in January 2023.
Throughout his tenure, Arase was known for his dedication to police welfare and his reform-driven leadership. He implemented major initiatives aimed at improving policing and public trust, including the Intelligence Response Team and the Complaint Response Unit. Beyond his professional career, he was deeply committed to education and social impact through the Solomon Ehigiator Arase Foundation (SEAF). The foundation awarded scholarships to outstanding Nigerian students, with a particular focus on children of deceased police officers and students from underserved communities.
He is remembered as a principled leader, reformer, and patriot who left a lasting imprint on Nigeria’s security and development landscape.