CSOs: Removal of PSC Chairman Violates Extant Laws

Sunday Ehigiator in Lagos and Ikechukwu Aleke in Abuja

A Coalition of civil society organisations has faulted the removal of the Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr. Solomon Arase, insisting that his sudden removal by President Bola Tinubu on June 10, 2024, violated the established legal procedure for the removal of the chairman.

 Tinubu had in a statement signed by his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, on June 10, announced the approval of the appointment of Hashimu Argungu (Rtd) as the new chairman of the PSC, thereby bringing to an abrupt end, the tenure of Arase.

Responding to the removal, a coalition of civil society organisations, in a statement jointly signed by Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), and 28 others, expressed worries, that such a decision by the president further undermines the independence, effectiveness, and confidence of the commission to discharge its mandate without undue interference as stipulated by the Police Service Commission Act.

They further expressed sadness that this is coming at a time when they are investing a lot of resources in support of the federal government towards police reform, which can be seen through various trainings supported by local and international partners and the recent recruitment of 10,000 police personnel.

While calling on the president to reverse his removal of the chairman of the PSC and fully constitute the Board of the Commission, the CSOs tasked the National Assembly to maximise its powers of checks and balances over actions of the executive.

“We, the undersigned civil society organisations in Nigeria, received with serious concern the decision by President Bola Tinubu to remove the Chairman of the PSC, Dr. Solomon Arase.

“We note that the State House Press Release dated June 10, 2024 through which the removal was announced did not disclose any reason for the said removal. We are also concerned that this removal appears to have violated the established legal procedure for the removal of the PSC Chairman,” they said.

The CSOs noted that Section 5, subsection 1 of the PSC Act provides: “Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 of this Act, the Chairman and any other member, may at any time be removed from office by the President acting on an address supported by a two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be removed for inability to discharge the functions of the Office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause of misconduct).”

The group continued: “While we welcome this recruitment, we are worried about the renewed and needless controversy associated with the power games around police recruitment, despite the Supreme Court‘s judgment of July 11, 2023, which affirmed the power of the commission under the Police Service Commission (Establishment) Act, 2001 to handle police recruitment functions”.

The CSOs further, noted that Section 6 (2) of the PSC Act stipulates that the Commission shall not be subject to the direction, control or supervision of any other authority or person in the performance of its functions other than as is prescribed in the Act.

The coalition said it believed that the controversy does not serve the interest of the NPF as an institution or the interest of the country.

“Today, Nigerians are celebrating Democracy Day. One of the fundamental attributes of a democratic system is respect for the rule of law and due process, thus Mr President should holistically address this issue.

“We therefore call on the president to reverse this purported removal of the Chairman of the PSC and fully constitute the Board of the Commission. We also call for a conclusion of the police recruitment process, including training and deployment, considering that even the IGP stated recently that more than 20,000 police personnel needed to be recruited annually to boost police manpower requirements. The numbers for recruitment can also be boosted through the Cadet ASP short course.

“We will use this opportunity to also call on the National Assembly to maximise its powers of checks and balances over actions by the executive. The total disregard for the rule of law in this instance further fuels the fears of the Nigerian people about the vulnerability of the operations of the Nigeria Police by the political class.

“This is not good for our democracy and standing in the comity of nations. We are looking forward to a quick and positive resolution of the situation for the good of a thriving democracy and the good of the country,” they added.