By Abiola Olawale
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome has on Thursday condemned the extension of Mohammed Adamu’s tenure as Inspector General of Police (IGP), by President Muhammadu Buhari as he said the IGP will be occupying the position illegally.
Adamu’s tenure was extended for an additional three months, after completing the mandatory 35 years in service.
Ozekhome, who expressed himself in an interview on the Channels Television, weighed in on the extension, stating that President Buhari was wrong to have extended the service of Adamu.
According to Ozekhome, Adamu is a retired Inspector General of Police illegally occupying the office of the IGP.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi had disclosed the development on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the decision by the President to extend the IGP’s tenure for another three months was to give time for proper selection of the new helmsman.
While citing Section 215 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 216 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and paragraph 27 to the 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution, Ozekhome said Buhari does not even have the power to single-handedly appoint or dismiss an Inspector General of Police as it has been.
He said such action must be carried out with full consultation and at a meeting with the Nigeria Police Council.
“Mr president’s action is patently, glaringly illegal, unconstitutional and immoral because he is denying other members of the Nigeria Police Force who are also aspiring to go up to become Inspector Generals.”
According to him, in the eyes of the law as it stands, there is no Inspector General of Police and what we have now is a retired Inspector General of Police illegally occupying the office.
“In the eye of the law, there is no Inspector General of Police. What he have there is somebody, a retired Inspector General of Police illegally occupying the office just as Mr Magu has illegally occupied his office as acting chairman of EFCC even after he was rejected two times based on damning report by the DSS of this same government which said he failed the integrity test.
“We do not have an Inspector General of Police because the last one has retired by effluxion of time, statutorily and constitutionally. So Mr. President cannot by an administrative fiat recreate the law. The only organ that can remake the law is the National Assembly.”
He advised that the only way President Buhari can remedy the situation is by withdrawing the tenure elongation and appointing someone from the serving AIGs.
In his words, “The President was wrong to have purportedly extended the tenure of office of Mr Adamu. That he was going to retire on the 1st of February was not a surprise, everybody knows that he was born in 1961, everybody knows that he joined the Nigeria Police Force 35 years ago. Did you not see what happened in America that we modeled our democracy after? Before Biden was sworn in on the 20th of January, he had already assembled his cabinet, a rainbow coalition, a Dolly Parton’s coat of many colors. By their features you will see them- Blacks, Hispanics, Americans, Jews, Chinese, Russians, Arabs, African-Americans. Why do we always wait till the last moment to begin to adopt the fire brigade approach and then do the things that are unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, questionable, arbitrary, whimsical, capricious as the present act of Mr. President had done. Don’t Mr. President’s handlers know that they are embarrassing Mr. President and Nigeria? We have to look at Section 7, Sub-section 6 of the Nigeria Police Act 2020, what does it say? In very emphatic, categorically words, it says that the Inspector General of Police shall serve for four years. Has Adamu served for four years? No. Would he, therefore, continue in office? No. Why? Section 18, Sub-section 8 of the same Nigeria Police Act 2020 makes it clear, unambiguously that the Inspector General of Police shall retire from office when he would have served for 35years or he has attained the age of 65years. Granted that Adamu, born in 1961 being the 20th Inspector General of Police has not attained the age of 65 but he has served 35 years and he ended that 35years on the 1st of February, 2021. Adamu has served this country to the best of his abilities, why don’t you let him retire quietly to his village in Lafia, Nassarawa State and allow him to enjoy his retirement.
It would be recalled that Ozekhome, 63, is a Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, holding the rank of SAN.
