ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Police Command has a new helmsman as the Force effects a change of leadership aimed at strengthening security and sustaining pressure on criminal elements across the state.
Aina Adesola on Monday assumed duty as the 23rd Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, succeeding Olufemi Abaniwonda, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police and redeployed to the Department of Operations at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Born on September 2, 1968, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Adesola hails from Abeokuta South Local Government Area. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Ondo State University, obtained in 1990, and was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on June 10, 1994, as a member of Course 4 Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police. He trained at the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State.
Following the completion of his training, he was deployed to Delta State in 1996, where he served in Ogwashi-Uku, beginning a career that has spanned operational, administrative, investigative and training assignments across several commands.
His postings include service as Divisional Police Officer at Aswani Division between 2012 and 2015, Officer-in-Charge of Homicide at the Edo State Command in 2016, and Officer-in-Charge of X-Squad, Zone 2, Lagos, in the same year. He later served as Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Finance and Administration at the Abia State Command from 2018 to 2022, and as Commandant of the Police Training School, Oyin-Akoko, Ondo State, in 2022.
Adesola was subsequently appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration) at the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters, Abuja, before serving as Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, Rivers State Command, in 2023. He returned to Delta State as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) from 2023 to 2025.
Upon his promotion to the rank of Commissioner of Police in 2025, he was posted to Lagos State as Deputy Commandant of the Police College, Ikeja, where he served for seven months before his deployment to Delta State in January 2026.
The new Commissioner has also undertaken several leadership and specialised courses, including the Citizenship and Leadership Course in Jos, Leadership Command Course, Tactical Leadership Command Course at the Police Staff College, Jos, Police Mobile Training Course in Gwoza, and Community Policing Train-the-Trainers Course at the Police College, Ikeja. He has further benefited from International Law Enforcement Academy programmes in Gaborone, Botswana, and Roswell, New Mexico, United States.
Widely described as disciplined, detribalised and people-oriented, Adesola has participated in numerous workshops and seminars within and outside Nigeria and is known for his professionalism, humility and commitment to community-based policing. He is married with children and enjoys reading, travelling and football.
While formally taking over the command, the new police chief pledged to consolidate existing security frameworks and intensify proactive policing strategies across Delta State. He appealed to residents to continue to support the Police and other security agencies, while warning youths against allowing themselves to be drawn into criminal activities.
In his handing-over remarks, the outgoing Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda, expressed appreciation to the Delta State Government and residents for their cooperation during his tenure and urged them to extend the same goodwill to his successor.
Addressing journalists, Adesola assured residents that under his leadership, the Delta State Police Command would remain firm, professional and proactive, declaring that the state would be made increasingly hostile to criminals and criminal networks.
