The Integrity Youth Alliance, an organisation that has been monitoring the development trends in the Nigeria Police Force for over 15 years, has said that there is no palpable fear at the top echelon of the Nigeria Police Force, as reported by the Daily Times.
Responding to the publication, the Alliance’s Board Chairman, Comrade Adewole Kehinde, said that Section 7(2) of the Police Act 2020 is self-explanatory. It states 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 with the requisite academic qualifications of not less than a first degree or its equivalent in addition to professional and management experience.”.
The statement read, “It is unfortunate that a medium like Daily Times could say that, “A presidency source said there is tension at the top brass of the Force as Tinubu begins to search.” The Police Act is very clear on who can become an IGP: a senior police officer not below the rank of an Assistant Inspector-General of Police.
“So we doubt if there is any “fear occasioned by the fact that the presidency has narrowed its search to the level of Commissioner of Police as a replacement.”.
“It is unfortunate that a big newspaper like the Daily Times could copy news from Supreme News (https://supremenewsng.com/rumbles-in-police-over-alleged-plan-to-appoint-cp-as-igp-8-digs-43-aigs-risk-compulsory-retirement-okiro-others-react/) and still claim credit for such news.
“Therefore, we call on the public to ignore the “copied publication” in the Daily Times and urge Inspector General of Police IGP Egbetokun to carry out his vision of a police force that is people-friendly, rule of law-abiding, professionally competent, and service-driven, the statement concluded.
