IGP dragged to Buhari over recruitment exercise tussle

The Police Service Commission has reported the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to President Muhammadu Buhari, for refusing to hand over the 2019 recruitment of 10,000 constables, TopNaija reports.

The agency said the IG refused to obey the Appeal Court judgment nullifying his purported mandate to recruit constables into the Nigeria Police Force “because he enjoys the supervision of people bearing arms.”

It was gathered on Friday that the commission complained to the President after the IG wrote to the PSC, saying he would not hand over the recruitment exercise.

According to a source, the commission in its letter to the President accused the IG of setting a bad precedent by failing to obey a court order, adding that the service asked Buhari to prevail on the police boss.

The official stated, “The IG, the chief law officer of the federation, has decided to disobey the judgment of a competent court of law and has yet to secure a stay of execution. The commission obeyed the decision of the lower court even when it had appealed the ruling.

“The IG is still insisting on the judgment of the lower court and the Police Act; he is setting a bad precedent because he enjoys the supervision of people with arms. The commission has, however, written to the President to call the IG to order (sic).”

Our correspondent had in an exclusive report revealed that the PSC directed the IG to hand over the 2019 and the ongoing 2020 recruitment exercise in a letter dated October 20, 2020, signed by the Commission Chairman, Musiliu Smith.

The agency hinged its demand on the September 2020 Court of Appeal judgment which nullified a lower court ruling dated December 2, 2019, and affirmed the commission’s constitutional mandate to recruit constables into the Nigeria Police Force.

But justifying his refusal to hand over the recruitment exercise in his letter to the commission obtained by Saturday PUNCH, Adamu argued that the NPF had filed a Notice of Appeal on October 2, challenging the Appeal Court judgment “in the exercise of our constitutional right of appeal.”

He further said a Motion on Notice for injunction pending the appeal was equally filed by the NPF, the Minister of Police Affairs and the office of the IG at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

“The said Notice of Appeal filed on 2nd October 2020 as well as the Motion on Notice for an injunction pending appeal on 2nd October and 26th October, respectively, have been duly served on the Police Service Commission,“ the letter read.

It was titled, ‘Re: Judgment of Appeal Court in Appeal No: CA/A/84/2020 in relation to the 2019 and 2020 recruitment exercise of constables into the Nigeria Police Academy.’

The police chief also cited various precedents to validate his decision not to release the constable recruitment to the commission, adding that upon receipt of the certified true copy of the appellate court judgment, “we have also filed a comprehensive Notice of Appeal consisting of 23 grounds.”

The letter debunked the assertion by the PSC that the Appeal Court judgment nullified the Police Act, 2020, noting that the issue was not raised or determined in the court order.

It said, “The issues regarding the Police Act, 2020, having not been raised, considered or determined in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the provisions of the said Police Act, 2020 are extant.

“Assuming there are issues arising from the Police Act, 2020, they are fresh issues for which a fresh action must be filed to challenge the same by the Police Service Commission.”