The Integrity Youth Alliance, an organisation that has been monitoring development trends in the Nigerian Police Force for over 15 years, schooled the one-man NGO Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on the tenure of the Inspector General of Police.
Reacting to a publication titled “NIS: Tenure extensions on Tinubu’s watch favour only Yoruba; HURIWA alleges,” the publicity director of the Alliance, Danjuma Lamido, said it is unfortunate that ignorants like Emmanuel Onwubiko could refer to the tenured office of the Inspector General of Police as an extension.
“Despite his ignorance, he still says, “President Bola Tinubu pushed the Police Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 to the NASS to amend the Police Act of 2020. This was to enable Egbetokun to complete a full term of four years.”
“The same HURIWA said that the Public Service Rule 020810 declares a compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service to be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier, but forgot that the position of the Inspector General of Police is an appointment as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended): “There shall be— (a) an Inspector-General of Police who the President shall appoint subject to section 216(2) of this Constitution”.
“We wish to state that Egbetokun’s constitutional tenure did not create any internal schism. Also, there was nothing like a massive purge of many “so-called ambitious and activist senior police officers” by the hierarchy of the Nigeria police favoured by President Tinubu, as made believe by the one-man NGO, HURIWA.
“We recall that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has declared that the amendment of the Police Act by the National Assembly in 2024 was in order and no individual or organisation has gone to court to challenge that to date; not even the one-man NGO, HURIWA.
“On a final note, we wish to say that IGP Kayode Egbetokun got his appointment on merits, competences and patriotism against the malicious statement by one man NGO, HURIWA, that his tenured office was based on friendship and ethnic affiliation, the statement concluded.
