As CSOs Slam Tinubu’s Move to Extend IGP’s Tenure via Police Act Amendment 

The bill to amend the Police Act was speedily passed by the Senate on July 23, 2024, following an appeal by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to continue to serve his four-year term despite reaching the statutory 60-year terminus of civil servants. Sunday Ehigiator and Esther Oluku write on the position of Civil Society Groups, as they call on the President to shun what they described as attempt to “subvert the law in Egbetokun’s favour”

In an unexpected turn of events at the National Assembly, the Senate swiftly passed a bill to amend the Nigerian Police Act 2020 on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The amendment introduces a new clause under Section 8, which contradicts the Service Act’s provision that public servants must retire after 35 years of service or at 60 years of age. 

Notably, this change affects the tenure of the current Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, appointed in June 2023 for a four-year term set to end in 2027. However, Egbetokun is scheduled to turn 60 on September 4, 2024, which would normally mark the end of his civil service career. 

To accommodate the new clause, the Senate modified Section 18 of the original Nigerian Police Act 2020 by replacing subsection (8) with the following revised clause: 

“(8) Notwithstanding any other provision, every police officer shall serve in the Nigeria Police Force for 40 years or until they reach the age of 65, whichever comes first.”  

Whereas, Section 18 (8) of the current Nigeria Police Act states: “Every police officer, upon recruitment or appointment, is required to serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a maximum of 35 years or until they reach the age of 60, whichever occurs first.” 

Speedy Passage Despite Breach of Rule of Law 

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, prompted by a presidential letter, led the push to amend the Police Act. He argued that the amendment aims to allow the Inspector General to serve their full appointed tenure unless the appointing authority decides otherwise.  

However, Senator Seriake Dickson countered that the amendment contradicts existing provisions and suggested stepping down the bill for further consultations.  

Despite dissenting voices, the bill passed its first, second, and third readings in under 20 minutes, without broader consultation on this critical issue. 

The Police Amendment Bill rests on four key objectives: ‘Extend police personnel’s service years to enhance experience and expertise; Retain experienced personnel, reducing training and recruitment costs; Boost morale, performance, and job satisfaction within the Nigerian Police Force; and Address the shortage of experienced police personnel’. 

Criticism

Like so many others, the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies criticised the amendment to the Police Act, arguing that it undermines its intended objectives and advocating for maintaining the current 35-year service limit or 60-year retirement age.  

The institute pointed out that the recruitment age range for the Nigeria Police Force is 18-25 years, resulting in varying retirement ages. It challenged the amendment’s justifications, stating that retaining experienced personnel and reducing training costs is not a valid reason to extend service years, as police personnel are recruited annually and retire at different times.  

Additionally, the institute argued that extending service terms may not improve morale, performance, and job satisfaction and that the claimed shortage of personnel is inconsequential due to annual recruitment exercises. 

The group’s argument stated that firstly, “the retention of experienced personnel and reduction in the cost of training and recruiting new officers “cannot be a justifiable ground for increasing the service years of police personnel. Police personnel are usually recruited annually.  

“At the point of entry, they are not of the same age. They do not retire at the same time. Therefore, there can be no question of depletion of experienced personnel in the NPF as there would always be experienced hands available to discharge police duties even as experienced hands retire.” 

Secondly, the group argued that “the extension of the service term will not improve the morale performance and job satisfaction in the workforce of the Nigerian Police Force as the rigor of the work may not make an extension a preferred option for officers.” 

Thirdly, it noted that the topic of shortage of personnel “is inconsequential as the Service conducts yearly recruitment exercises to on-board new officers hence the amendment cannot be justified on the ground.” 

It stated that most of these officers are underutilised hence the need to train and take advantage of new officers rather than extend the tenure of officers who have reached their retirement ages. 

HURMA Calls for Adherence to Due Process 

A human rights advocacy group, Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA) has called on the federal government to follow due process in the replacement of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, as the latter will on September 4, 2024, attain his 60th year being the statutory terminus for civil servants in the country. 

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, the Executive Director HURMA, Mr. Buna Olaitan, stated that the need to address this irregularity in the adherence to due process is imminent as the Legislature in a bid to circumvent the process has proceeded to amend, in a day, the Police Act to extend Egbetokun’s stay in office. 

Olaitan who decried the hasty amendment of the Police Service Act which according to him, did not allow for wider consultation is an aberration to existing legislative procedure and needs to be checked. 

Continuing, he shared that with a knowledge of his statutory disengagement from the office next month, Egbetokun ought to have proceeded on his terminal leave and an appointment to replace him ought to have been made to make for a seamless transition. 

He also said: “Mr. Kayode Egbetokun was appointed as Inspector General of Police in the year 2023, to hold office till his retirement upon 35 years in service or attainment of the age of 60.  

“Mr. Kayode Egbetokun’s official records, he is due for retirement by September 2024 when he attains the age of 60 having been born on the 4th day of September 1964. 

“Our concern is that Mr. Kayode Egbetokun should have proceeded on his terminal leave and hand over hand to another credible officer to hold forth in an acting capacity before the appointment of a substantive Inspector General of Police in line with the provision of Section 215(1) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as altered). 

“It is amazing to note the overzealousness of the distinguished members of the National Assembly in passing a Bill to amend the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, to accommodate ‘sit tightism’ of Mr. Kayode Egbetokun in office despite the attainment of mandatory 60 years of age. 

“Based on the foregoing, we urge Mr. President to abide by the Oath of Office sworn to upon becoming the president of all Nigerians.  

“In line with the Oath of Office, we plead with the President to use his enormous constitutional powers to save Nigeria Police from the internal conspiracy and disloyalty among the officers that may arise as a result of compromise of career progression, particularly, at a time like this that our great country is very fragile.” 

On his part, Member of, the HURMA Legal Aid Committee, Mr. Lekan Alabi, explained that Nigerians need a Police leadership that can address the modern challenges bedeviling Nigerian societies and prayed the President as a matter of urgency, respond to this matter.  

He said: “We need a Police IG that can serve the current situation of Nigeria. We want people to be able to go back to their farms. We want people to go back to the market. We want children to go back to school.  

“We want our women to move freely without being harassed by anybody. The only institution that can do this is the Police. We have written to Mr. President, the letter has gotten to Mr President and we believe he will read our letter and come out with an informed decision.” 

RULAAC Kicks 

For Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma said: “The Police Act 2020 prescribed a four-year tenure for the Inspector-General of Police. It was, therefore, expected that a person to be appointed Inspector-General of Police should have no less than 4 years before his/her retirement date. The Police Act also required that the Police Council meet to advise the president on the appointment of a new IGP when there is a vacancy, among other roles.

“Unfortunately, former President Muhammadu Buhari, in all the appointments he made while in office, was not known to have ever convened the Police Council, but instead, single-handedly handpicked and appointed an officer of his choice as IGP even when the officer’s retirement date was far behind the stipulated tenure of office.

“In appointing the current IGP, President Tinubu also followed this similar path by appointing him when he had barely two years to retire. 

“President Tinubu was expected to avoid the wrongful, patently illegal, and unconstitutional steps of the past, which led to controversies and judicial challenge of appointments made by the president. This, unfortunately, became the norm. 

“The President was expected to live by example and demonstrate his oft-repeated commitment to the rule of law and constitutionalism by ensuring that the appointment of the next IGP to replace Egbetokun who was expected to retire in the first week of September 2024 was done in total compliance with Constitutional and Statutory stipulations. 

“The appointment was expected to have been devoid of nepotism or other forms of favouritism or partisan political considerations. Unfortunately, the President has continued with the anomalous practice of extension of the tenure of a ‘preferred IGP’. 

“The negative effect is that while his mates would retire on the due date, he remains in service and office, stagnating the rise of numerous officers under him. This is unfair. It kills morale and breeds discontent and indiscipline. 

“President Tinubu is not known to have consulted the Police Council, which he chairs, to secure the concurrence of its members in the appointment process, as required by both the Constitution and the Police Act. 

“It is appalling that politics of self-interest could be taken so far as to amend the Police Act in order to achieve the extension of tenure of an IGP who otherwise was due to retire and vacate office. 

“It was expected that President Tinubu would avoid a repeat of the pitfalls, errors, and brazen illegalities of the past. He was looked upon as a self acclaimed democrat to ensure that appointments are based on legal and constitutional stipulations, merit, competence, qualifications, seniority, and existing line of succession.

“The President has betrayed the hope and expectation that he would chart a refreshingly new course, in tandem with his expressed commitment to the rule of law and the undertaking he publicly gave in his inauguration address on May 29, 2023.” 

Implications

Speaking on the implications of the president’s action if allowed to pull through, Nwanguma said the action of the President “is undemocratic, abusive, lacking in transparency, and setting a negative precedent.” 

According to him, “The passage of the bill without a public hearing is undemocratic and goes against the principles of separation of powers and public participation in governance. This implies that the voices of the people are not heard, and the democratic process is subverted. 

“The speedy and unchallenged passage of the bill raises concerns about abuse of power and violation of due process. The implication is that the President is using his influence to extend the tenure of the current Inspector-General of Police without following due process, which may undermine public trust and confidence in the government. 

“The lack of transparency and accountability in the passage of the bill implies that the government does not value the opinions of the people and lacks transparency in its decision-making process. 

“The speedy passage of the bill sets a precedent for future Executive Bills to be passed without proper consultation or scrutiny. This may erode the integrity of the legislative process and weaken democratic institutions. 

“The actions of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) portray them as a parliament that lacks independence and panders to the whims and caprices of the executive arm of government.  

“The National Assembly is a weak and ineffective institution incapable of upholding the principles of democracy and checks and balances. It’s a rubber-stamp parliament that merely follows the directives of the president and his political allies.  

“It’s an undemocratic parliament that does not represent the interests of the masses but instead serves the interests of a select few. It undermines the essence of democracy by reducing the voice of the people and placing too much power in the hands of the executive arm of government.” 

He therefore called on the president to refuse to sign the bill into law and maintain the rule of law in the police institution and hierarchy. 

Quote 

The President was expected to live by example and demonstrate his oft-repeated commitment to the rule of law and constitutionalism by ensuring that the appointment of the next IGP to replace Egbetokun, who was expected to retire in the first week of September 2024, was done in total compliance with Constitutional and Statutory stipulations. Unfortunately, the President has continued with the anomalous practice of extension of the tenure of a ‘preferred IGP’. The negative effect is that while his mates would retire on the due date, he remains in service and office, stagnating the rise of numerous officers under him. This is unfair. It kills morale and breeds discontent and indiscipline