Resolve controversies surrounding IGs’ appointment, CSOs tell Tinubu

Forum 10 months ago

Resolve controversies surrounding IGs’ appointment, CSOs tell Tinubu

A coalition of four Civil Society Organizations – the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peacebuilding, the Confluence of Rights, Nigeria, and the Ace and Vanguard Legal Practitioners, have asked the President, Bola Tinubu to resolve the legal and professional controversies surrounding the appointments of Inspector-Generals of Police.

The CSOs noted that appointments of IGs under successive administrations have often triggered avoidable controversies that have been allowed to fester over the years.

“The appointment by former President Muhammadu Buhari of Mr Usman Alkali-Baba as the acting IG in April 2021 following the sudden removal of Mr Muhammed Adamu (Baba’s predecessor), while he was on an official assignment in Owerri, Imo State, expectedly stoked the unending controversy on the contradictions between the De Jure and the De facto procedure on the appointment of the IG,” the groups said.

They further the urged President to avoid what they referred to as the wrongful, patently illegal and unconstitutional steps of the past Buhari regime which led to controversies and judicial challenges of appointments made by the President.

“In appointing a new IG to replace Baba, President Tinubu should avoid a repeat of the pitfalls, errors and brazen illegalities of the past. The President should take due cognizance of the provisions of the Police Act 2020 regarding four-year tenure. He should appoint only candidates who have up to four years and above in service.

“Appointment must be made in consultation with the Police Council as stipulated by both the Police Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. The President should also ensure geopolitical balancing and equity in line with the constitutional Federal Character Principle.

“In short, appointments must be based on legal and constitutional stipulations, merit, competence, qualifications, seniority and existing line of succession. The highest considerations must be professional and managerial competence rather than partisan or personal political preferences or nepotistic or other mundane considerations.

“We offer this advice to help this new administration chart a refreshingly new course, which, to us, is in tandem with the President’s commitment to the rule of law and the undertaking he publicly gave in his inauguration address on May 29, 2023,” the coalition added.