A legal practitioner, Tonye Jaja has said only an alteration of the 1999 Constitution can legalise the appointment and tenure extension of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
He made the remark in a letter addressed to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
Jaja who is the secretary of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, faulted the AGF for declaring the IG’s continuous stay in office lawful and legal.
The AGF had initially stated that Egbetokun’s appointment, which took effect on October 31, 2023, would end when he attained 60 years of age on September 4, 2024.
In contrast to the AGF’s previous claims, Jaja stated that the only way to prolong the Inspector-General of Police’s term is to amend Sections 214, 215 and 216 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
However, before the IG attained the retirement age, the Police Act was amended to allow him remain in office and to complete the original four-year term granted under Section 7 (6) of the Act, despite he has attained the age of 60 years.
The AGF then stated that the Police Act amendment had statutorily extended Egbetokun’s tenure to end on 31st October 2027, to complete the four-year tenure granted to him.
Contrary to the foregoing assertions by the AGF, Jaja claimed that it is only through an alteration of Sections 214, 215 and 216 of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) that the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police can be elongated.
“The logic behind this argument is that the office of the Inspector-General of Police is a direct creation and established by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. Therefore, it is only through an alteration of the said Constitution that changes can be made to the tenure of office of the said Inspector-General of Police,” he stated.
The lawyer also asked the AGF to take into account the Fifth Alteration Act, No.37 of June 8, 2023, which changed the 1999 Nigerian Constitution to give all judicial officers of the courts established by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution a uniform retirement age and pension.
Jaja warned that if the AGF didn’t take the necessary action, ALDRAP will file a case in Nigeria’s National Industrial Court to get clarification on the issue.
