Emmanuel Umar
Nigerian politician
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Emmanuel Bagna Umar is a Nigerian politician who served as the Niger State Commissioner for Local Government between 2021 and 2023.
Emmanuel Bagna Umar | |
|---|---|
| Niger State Commissioner for Local Government, Internal Security, and Chieftaincy | |
| In office September 22, 2021 – August 23, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji |
| Succeeded by | Mu'azu Hamidu Jantabo |
| Niger State Commissioner of Youth and Sports | |
| In office 2019 – September 21, 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 12, 1975 |
| Alma mater | Nigerian Defence Academy |
Biography
Umar was born on October 12, 1975, in Bagna, Shiroro LGA, Niger State, Nigeria to a Gbagyi family.[1] He attended the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, where he earned a master's degree in strategy and security administration.[1][2] He began working in intelligence services of the Nigerian government in 1997.[1][2]
In 2019, Umar was appointed as the Commissioner of Youth and Sports for Niger State.[2] During the End SARS protests in 2020, Umar spoke at a conference with other state-level ministers of youth and sports to attract youth away from protesting and towards sports.[3] On September 22, 2021, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello appointed Umar the state Commissioner of Local Government, Internal Security, and Chieftain Affairs on a temporary basis after the resignation of Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji.[4] Daji had resigned following a crisis after the death of Kontagora local chief, or Sarkin Sudan, on September 9. Umar's role was to guide elections for the next Sarkin Sudan.[4]
As commissioner of local government, Umar pledged to end banditry in Niger State in December 2021.[5] In January 2022, an operation by Niger State security forces under Umar to dislodge bandits from the town of Kusatsu retrieved 500 livestock from fleeing bandits, although several security forces died.[6] Umar claimed in March 2022 that security operations had killed several gangs of bandits in Mariga and Munya.[7][8] Several Chinese nationals, however, were abducted by bandits when working on the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Station.[7] Umar said that they "will soon regain freedom."[7]
On August 23, 2023, Mu'azu Hamidu Jantabo succeeded Umar as commissioner of local government.[9]