Following the lingering controversy surrounding the tenure of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi has stepped in to bring clarity to the matter.
In a statement released on Thursday by Justice Fagbemi, he asserts that Mr Egbetokun’s stay in office is not illegal even though he has attained his retirement age which is officially 60 years.
According to him, this follows a recent amendment to the Police Act which gives the IGP the leverage to complete his 4 years tenure, despite completing his official service years of 35 or clocking his retirement age.
The clarification became necessary in a bid to settle the dust raised by the rights activist Omoyele Sowore who opined that Mr Egbetokun is an “illegal IGP”, considering that he ought to have left office in September 2024 when he attained 60 years.
He said “The appointment of Egbetokun which took effect from 31st day of October 2023 would have come to an end on his attainment of 60 years of age on 4th day of September 2024,” Mr Fagbemi wrote in a statement on Thursday.
The chief justice added, “However, before his retirement age, the Police Act was amended to allow the occupant of the office to remain and complete the original four-year term granted under Section 7 (6) of the Act, notwithstanding the fact that he has attained the age of 60 years.”
The referenced section 7(6) of the Act states that “any person appointed to the office of the Inspector-General of Police shall hold office for four years.”
Recall that the controversy began when an executive bill requesting the amendment of the police act was introduced at the National Assembly on 23 July 2023, by the presidency and passed the second and third reading the same day in both the Red and Green chambers.
The supersonic speed at which the bill was approved drew the attention of the public, who assumed that there must be something fishy, which mandated the haste.
Meanwhile, the bill created a new Section 18(8A) of the Police Act that gave IGPs special civil service rights and enforced Section 7(6) of the Act.
In the principal Act, Section 18(8) states: “Every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.”
But the newly introduced section stated, “Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (8) of this section, any person appointed to the office of Inspector General of Police shall remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of appointment in line with the provisions of Section 7(6) of this Act.”
The presidency which sponsored the bill, said there was an urgent need for the amendment which aimed to guarantee the tenure of the IGP and revolutionise police operations by enhancing accountability, modernising policing methods and fostering a more harmonious relationship between the police and the community.
