Since nature abhors vacuum, Mohammed Umar Abba, Commissioner of Police (CP), on July 9, 2020 stepped in as the Acting Chairman of the Commission, being the most senior operational officer (Director of Operations) of the Commission.

The development followed the suspension of Ibrahim Magu on July 6, 2020. Seven months after, Abba handed over to the substantive Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on February 24, 2021.

Born on June 22, 1965 in Tudunwada Local Government Area of Kano State, Abba bagged his first degree from Bayero University, Kano. Umar did his one-year national service at the old Anambra State Police Command and later got enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force. He attended the Nigeria Police Academy, Kaduna State, where he was commissioned in 1992.

CP Abba was seconded to the Commission in January 2016 to head the Counterterrorism and General Investigations, CTGI, Section at the Headquarters in Abuja. He was appointed the Director of Operations of the Commission in 2017, a position he held till 2020 when he took over from Ibrahim Magu as acting Chairman, a position he held till he returned to the Police.