Once again, the perennial fights between the Police Service Commission, PSC, and the Inspector General of Police, IGP, erupted last week.
PSC, the constitutional body responsible for the recruitments, discipline and promotions in the Nigeria Police Force, had directed all officers who had attained the age of 60 or served for 36 years to retire. This is in line with the rules of the Civil Service. But the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, swiftly and strongly countered the directive, telling the affected officers to stay put till further notice.
Critics of the IGP’s countermand accused him of self-serving motives. Egbetokun, whose tenure was extended by President Bola Tinubu last year despite having clocked 60 years, might have taken the action to validate his own overstay. It could also be an affirmation of his strong standing as the president’s personal loyalist of about 25 years standing.
IGP Egbetokun is not the first to ride roughshod over the authority of the PSC. Most IGPs routinely do this and get away with it because of their strong personal ties to an incumbent president. They see the PSC as irritating obstacles to their visions and personal interaests, particularly with regard to recruitments, deployments and fund management. The situation is not helped by the fact that most of the PSC Chairmen tend to be retired IGPs or senior police officers whom the incumbent IGPs see as “meddlers” in their own tenures. This unhealthy relationship between the PSC and IGPs has continued to fester because successive presidents rarely intervene, and IGPs get away with their recalcitrance.
The reason for the president’s aloofness is often because the IGPs play strategic roles in advancing their personal and political interests, especially during elections, and keeping political opponents in check.
The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, is an institutional body. It is not meant to be run unilaterally or dictatorially. The Constitution created the Police Council, made up of the President and State Governors. Its job is to approve the President’s nominees for IGP. It is doubtful if the Council was consulted before Egbetokun’s service extension was implemented.
The PSC is also meant to prevent excesses and arbitrariness in the management of the Nigeria Police. These two bodies which ought to act as checks and balances, are being increasingly sidelined to enable the President and the IGP have their way. This negatively impacts careers, especially in the senior cadres of the Police. It encourages corruption, impunity and lack of interest in the pursuit of patriotism. It also kills morale and fosters career uncertainty. All these reduce the effectiveness of the Nigeria Police. We call for strict adherence to the constitutional visions for the NPF, especially recruitment, discipline, promotion and welfare of the police rank and file.
The PSC and IGP must cohabit constitutionally.
