Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, clocking 60 years on Wednesday, should have had his last day at work on Tuesday.
President Bola Tinubu pressed the National Assembly to revise the law in July, then he gave Egbetokun a three-year extension on Monday.
On July 23, the National Assembly led by Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abbas hastily passed the bill to amend the Police Act 2020.
Earlier that day, the House of Representatives had approved the Police Act Amendment Bill to allow the occupant of the Office of the Inspector General of Police to remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in his or her letter of appointment.
On the same day, the Senate also took the same action following an appeal by the presidency that Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), be allowed to continue serving his four-year term in office despite the fact that he would attain the age of 60 on September 4.
Sixty is the retirement age for civil servants in Nigeria.
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During the session, however, the Senate modified Section 18 of the original Nigerian Police Act of 2020 by adding a new Sub-Section (8A) to it:
“(8) Notwithstanding any other provision, every police officer shall serve in the Nigeria Police Force for 40 years or until they reach the age of 65, whichever comes first.”
Section 18 (8) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020, however, still states:
“Every police officer, upon recruitment or appointment, is required to serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a maximum of 35 years or until they reach the age of 60, whichever occurs first.”
With this, and despite attaining the age of 60, Egbetokun is not expected to quit office as IGP anytime soon. This also means he is expected to remain Nigeria’s IGP beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Interestingly, the bill was said to have passed its first, second, and third readings in under 20 minutes at the Senate.
This was done despite the argument raised by Seriake Dickson, the senator representing Bayelsa West, that the amendment contradicts existing provisions and suggested stepping down the bill for further consultations.
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The amendment has generated a lot of criticism from the Nigerian public with civil society organisations (CSOs) like the Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA) and Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) describing the presidency and National Assembly’s actions as “undemocratic, abusive, lacking in transparency, and setting a negative precedent”.
Despite the many criticisms, Egbetokun received a letter of tenure extension by three years from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday.
The post IGP Egbetokun Should Have Retired Today — But Tinubu Made NASS Revise the Law appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.