By Akanimo Sampson
The appointment of Usman Alkali Baba, as Nigeria’s new acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) by President Muhammadu Buhari, has described as illegal and unconstitutional.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, and the Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a human rights advocacy group, said so on Wednesday as Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) lashed out at President Buhari for his penchant for blaming the leaders before him, describing him as incompetent.
CAN President, Samson Ayokunle, said of Buhari, “we put you there to secure the nation; we didn’t put you there to be complaining about bad leaders.’’ He was speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Tuesday, at the Holy Convocation organised by the Victory Life Bible Church.
Ayokunle lamented over the spate of insecurity and criminality in the country, saying that criminals had become more professional than the security agents.
“The criminals are behaving more professional than the regular law enforcement agents. You were complaining about past leaders; we knew that the past leaders didn’t do well and we approach you to make a change”, the cleric said.
He noted that the insecurity and other vices being witnessed in the country were as a result of negligence on the part of the Buhari administration.
While he spoke against the background of worsening insecurity in the country, as bandits and kidnappers roam the country, carting people away into their dens and asking for ransom, Ozekhome contended Baba’s appointment negated provisions of Federal Character as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, as amended.
In a statement claiming that Buhari has Northernised Nigeria Police, the prominent activist lawyer argued that the President lacks the power to single handedly appoint the IGP.
He said President Buhari can only appoint an IGP in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Council comprising Mr. President as chairman, all the 36 state governors, the chairman of the Police Service Commission and the IGP.
He argued the appointment of Baba, as the new acting IGP “is capricious, arbitrary, whimsical, unconscionable, illegal, unlawful, wrongful and unconstitutional.”
The senior advocate wondered why the President chose to ignore and disrespect the Federal Character principle enshrined in section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
For RULAAC, ‘’the procedure requires that the Police Council, comprising the President, the governor of each of the states of the federation and the FCT, the chairman of the police service commission and the sitting inspector general of police, would meet to consider the candidates and advice the President who will then appoint one of them based on the advice of the Council. The President also needs to consult the Police Council to remove a sitting IGP.”
