The Inspector General of Police(IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has said that there is no war between the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission (PSC), over the just concluded recruitment exercise.
The IGP, stated this during his meeting with commanders in Abuja, said the police had no problem with the supreme court judgement giving the authority to recruitment to the PSC.
Recall that the police had in a statement on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, OluMuyiwa Adejobi, rejected the list of successful candidates released by the commission, adding that it was marred by corruption and other irregularities.
In response to the IGP allegations the Joint Union Congress of the Police Service Commission chairman, Adoyi Adoyi on the same day, denied the allegations and accused the police of a failed attempt to smuggle names into the list released by the commission and called for the removal of the IGP for wrongly accusing the commission.
Egbetokun, while responding to journalists questions during the meeting, noted that while the supreme court gave the PSC the power to recruit, it, however, did not order the exclusion of the force from the process.
He said, “The wise men sitting at the Supreme Court, while ruling on the controversial and questionable issue surrounding police recruitment, gave the final authority to the police to the Police Service Commission. There is no problem with that.
“The judgment of the Supreme Court is sound, clear and unambiguous. The issue lies elsewhere. The Supreme Court in its wisdom, recognizing that the police is the end user of this recruitment, did not exclude the police from participating in the recruitment exercise into the police force.
“So it is expected that while recruiting into the police force by the commission, the police will be carried along”.
Egbetokun said what he was doing was to ensure the right set of people were recruited into the force.
He said, “The Inspector General Police of Nigeria leads the largest police force in Africa. Over 300,000 officers and men look up to him for guidance and for leadership.
He cannot sit down and look on and see how recruitment into the police force is anyhow. He cannot afford to disappoint the officers and men that he is leading. He has a duty to ensure quality recruitment into the police.
“And that includes quality participation of the police in the recruitment exercise. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are doing everything possible to make sure that qualified and capable individuals are recruited into the police.
“The problems we are having with the police now start with the recruitment. If we don’t pay attention to recruitment, a disaster is awaiting us. We can’t sit here as members of the force management team and allow that to happen.
“And that is why we are raising issues when we see issues. The First Bureau made an announcement earlier. And we have also written to the Police Service Commission expressing our concerns with the published list of successful candidates in the exercise.
“So there is no fight between the police and the Police Service Commission. The police will play their role. The Police Service Commission will play their role
We recognize the power of the Commission to recruit for the police. We respect that power. And what we are doing is without prejudice to the powers of the Police Service Commission to recruit for the police.
“But for us to sit down and allow individuals with bad eyesight, we can’t afford to recruit deaf and dumb into the police. Don’t get me wrong. Deaf and dumb are human beings.
“They can get jobs elsewhere. But for now, in the Nigerian police, we don’t have space for them. Maybe later in the future we will start, because modern policing is inclusive, in future we may say, okay, we want to start recruiting people with disabilities into the police.
“By then, we will have made special arrangements for their training, so that they will come and function well in the police. We don’t want to recruit people who commit suicide in the police. The police job is too sensitive.
So we have to be careful with the kind of people we recruit into the police. And that’s what we are saying. So we are not fighting anybody”. The IGP, said.
On the call by the PSC union calling for his sack from office, Egbetokun, said, “I won’t respond to a call for my remover. Anybody can call for my remover.
Anybody who doesn’t like me can come out tomorrow and say, remove the IG. That’s not a problem. We are all entitled to our opinion.”
In a reaction to IGP conference remarks, staff of Police Service Commission said that the IGP lied in his claims that the Nigeria Police has a part to play in recruitment exercises.
“Mr. IGP sir, it is now clear that you didn’t see the judgement and that your subordinates have terribly misled you. You lied in your conference when you said that the Supreme Court did not exclude the Police from participating in the recruitment of Police Officers. YOU ARE 100% EXCLUDED BY THE LAW. By even including you to participate in it, out of the Commission’s magnanimity, we were disobeying Court Orders too. Mr. IGP sir, please read 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the attached CTC of the Appeal Court Judgement that was duly upheld by the Supreme Court afterwards.”
They pasted part of the Supreme Court judgement in their platform to buttress the point.
“Including But not limited to the Police Act and the Police Regulations) in exercising or purporting to exercise the powers appoint, promote, dismiss or discipline persons holding of aspiring
to hold offices in the Nigeria Police Force, being inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution particularly section 153 subsection (1)(m), section 163 subsection (2) and section 215(1b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)and Paragraph 30 Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution is invalid, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
4 A DECLARATION that any act or attempt by the Defendants in appointing, recruiting and/or shortlisting for appointment, persons aspiring to hold sny office in the Nigeria Police Force except the office of the inspector-General of Police amount to unlawful and unjustified usurpation of the exclusive constitutional and statutory functions and powers of the Plaintiff and accordingly null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
- AN ORDER nullifying any act or attempt the Defendants whether acting jointly or severally in appointing or purporting to appoint any person into the 1″ Defendant whether by means of enlistment, shortlisting, recognition, recruitment or in any other manner
howsoever, such act or attempt is ultra vires the functions and powers of the Defendants - AN ORDER OF PERPER INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants, jointly and severally, by themselves or through officers, agents or representatives or through any other body or appointee of the Federal Government of Nigeria from further exercising of purporting to exercise the powers to appoint, promote, dismiss or in any manner howsoever exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold any office in the Nigeria Police Force other than the Inspector General of Police.
- AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL {INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants, jointly and severally, from interfering or further interfering in any manner howsoever with the Plaintiff’s discharge of its constitutional’ and statutory functions in respect of the appointment, promotion, dismissal, or exercise of disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold offices in the Nigeria Police Force other than the inspector General of Police.”
There will be no Order as to Costs.
Order made by Peter Olabisi Ige , Justice, Court of Appeal.
CERTIFIED TRUE COPY SIGNED BY SHERITAT ADEBAYO Esq.
The Sun with additional report by Sleeknews.