There is uneasy calm in the Nigeria Police Force following the recent declaration by Justice Fatun Riman of the Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, that only an officer within the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG, with four years in service, could be appointed as Inspector General of Police, in accordance with the 2020 Police Act.
The court in its judgement delivered on May 19, 2023, also faulted the continued stay in office by the present Inspector-General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba, who was appointed when he had less than four years to retire from the Nigeria Police Force.
But the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, extended Baba’s stay in office mid-February 2023 when he was expected to retire, in line with the Police Act.
With the emergence of a new administration, news of the appointment of a new IGP and service chiefs in the Police force and the military has raised a mixture of hope, fear of forced retirement and uncertainty.
The anxiety is said to be further heightened by rumours that President Tinubu, saddled with the responsibility of appointing an IGP, on the advice of the Police Council, from among serving senior officers of the Police Force, may appoint an Assistant Inspector General of Police from the South East as the next IGP.
Reality on ground
But Vanguard gathered that none of the six Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIGs, representing the six- geopolitical zones in the Nigeria Police management structure, has the requisite four years of service before retirement, as stipulated by the extant laws.
Also, for the AIGs, Vanguard learned that two of the over 20 have four years and above to retire, either at the age of 60 years or on attaining the mandatory 35 years in service.
One of the AIGs from the South East , is said to have all it takes in terms of operational capabilities, intelligence and requirements of the 2020 Police Service Act to be appointed into the exalted position. The second AIG is from the North.
There are also speculations that the present administration may chose one of the two Commissioners of Police from the South West and North Central respectively, as the next IGP.
Qualification of an IGP
This is because the two officers who were recently promoted to the rank of CP, also meet the four years requirements by the Police Act.
Sources said either of these “preferred officers” is likely to be promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, in order to qualify him as stipulated in section 7 of the Police Act.
By the way, Section 7 of the Police Act, paragraph 2, says the person to be appointed as Inspector General of Police shall be a senior police officer not below the rank of an Assistant Inspector-General of Police.
In addition, Section 7, paragraph 6, of the Police Act also states that the person to be appointed to the office of the Inspector-General of Police shall hold office for four years.
Dire consequence
However, if the information about promoting either of the ‘preferred CPs is anything to go by, then, it will force the premature retirement of all senior AIGs and DIGs, who can no longer remain in office because they are seniors to the handpicked candidate for IGP.
If this perceived action is executed, some senior police officers and stakeholders in the security system said it would lead to a waste of manpower, especially as the government has invested so much in their training over time.
Besides the destructive loss of institutional memory, a source told Vanguard that it could also lead to loss of a critical asset that provides foundational stability, especially at a time the country is grappling with an unprecedented wave of different but overlapping security crises.
CSOs react
Reacting to the development yesterday, some Civil Society Organisations, including the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, and Confluence of Rights, Nigeria, called on President Bola Tinubu to avoid what they described as pitfalls of the past administration in the appointment of an IGP.
Others are Foundation for Justice and Peace Building, Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development, Abuja.
Their contention is that any likely waiver by the appointing authority to grant tenure extension would utterly undermine the law, the provisions of the Police Act, 2020 (Amended) which provides in section 18(8) of the Police Act, 2020: “that Every Police officer shall on recruitment, or appointment, serve the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years whichever comes first.
They further posited that such action could trigger avoidable tension within the system, especially the command structure of the police hierarchy, lower morale and disrupt the systematic movement of top officers in line with their seniority and rank.
Expressing a similar view on the matter, former IGP and now chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, Solomon Arase, said: “The newly sworn-in President, Bola Tinubu, must avoid the wrongful, patently illegal and unconstitutional steps of the past administration which led to controversies and judicial challenge of appointments.
“He should appoint only candidates who have up to four years and above in service. Appointment must be made in consultation with the Police Council as stipulated by both the Police Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999”.
“Appointments must be based on legal and constitutional stipulations, merit, competence, qualifications, seniority and existing line of succession.
“The highest considerations must be professional and managerial competence, rather than partisan or personal political preferences or nepotistic or other mundane considerations.”
First published in Vanguard
