The South West Youth Alliance has called on its members across the 36 states and the FCT to prepare massively for the #EgbetokunMustStay protest set to take place on Friday, April 25, 2025.
According to a press release on Sunday, 20th April 2025, signed by the Publicity Secretary of the South West Youth Alliance, Adenika Ajanlekoko, the protest is aimed at countering the mischievous and dubious demand for the removal of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, by a failed politician and self-acclaimed human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore.
“Nigerians will recall that the Nigeria Police Force (Establishment) Act, 2020, which came into force on September 17, 2020, repealed the Police Act of 2004, and the Police Act 2020 also says that the Inspector General of Police shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Police Council from among serving members of the Police Force.
“Section 7 of the Police Act, paragraph two, says that 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.
“Section 7(6) of the Police Act says that the IGP appointment is for a 4-year tenure. The person to be appointed to the office of the Inspector-General of Police shall hold office for four years.
“It may interest Nigerians that the above sections have been in existence before the appointment of IGP Kayode Egbetokun as the 22nd Indigenous Inspector General of Police, Ajanlekoko said.
She further said that the retirement of Egbetokun from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has nothing to do with his appointment on the ground that the four-year tenure is sacrosanct.
“Nigerians are aware that the National Assembly on 23rd July 2024 amended Section 8(a) of the Police Act 2020 to clarify the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). The amendment, which adds a new subsection (8A) to Section 8, ensures that the IGP’s term of office will be as stipulated in their letter of appointment, rather than being limited by the general rules of retirement for other police officers, Ajanlekoko said.
“We see Omoyele Sowore as a busybody and meddlesome interloper because he is not a serving police officer qualified for appointment or has ever applied for the IGP’s position.
“Our protest is aimed at encouraging IGP Kayode Egbetokun to build a more professional, service-driven, and community-oriented force by fostering trust, mediating conflicts, and implementing reforms to enhance the police’s ability to address contemporary crime and support the Federal Government’s agenda, the statement concluded.
