Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and
minister of justice, says the continuous stay of Kayode Egbetokun, the
inspector-general of police (IGP), in office is lawful.
In a statement on Thursday, Fagbemi said Egbetokun’s
appointment, which took effect on October 31, 2023, remains valid for a period
of four years.
The AGF said since the amendment of the Police Act of 2024,
the IGP will stay in office for four years “notwithstanding the fact that he
has attained the age of 60 years”.
The civil service rules stipulate that civil servants should
retire at the age of 60 years or after attaining 35 years of service.
“The appointment of Egbetokun which took effect from 31st
day of October, 2023 would have come to an end on his attainment of 60 years of
age on 4th day of September, 2024,” the statement reads.
“However, before his retirement age, the Police Act was
amended to allow the occupant of the office to remain and complete the original
four-year term granted under Section 7 (6) of the Act, notwithstanding the fact
that he has attained the age of 60 years.
“This has, therefore, statutorily extended the tenure of
office of Egbetokun to and including the 31st day of October 2027, in order to
complete the four-year tenure granted to him.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Egbetokun’s continuous stay in
office is in line with the provisions of the Police Act amended in 2024 which
allow the occupant of the office to enjoy a term of four years effective from
the date of his appointment as IGP, in this case, 31st day of October 2023.”
BACKGROUND
On June 19, 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Egbetokun
as the IGP to replace Usman Baba.
On October 31, 2023, the National Police Council confirmed
Egbetokun as the substantive IGP.
According to section 7 of the Police Act 2020, the person
appointed to the office of the IGP shall hold the office for four years.
But Egbetokun, who was born on September 4, 1964, was
expected to retire on September 4, 2024, when he turned 60 years old.
Section 18(8) of the Act, which makes direct reference to
the civil service rule on retirement, states that “every police officer shall,
on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period
of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.”
However, in July 2024, the national assembly hurriedly
passed a bill seeking to allow the IGP to remain in office “until the end of
the term stipulated in his appointment letter”.
The legislation proposed to create a new section 18(8A) to
enable the IGP to stay longer than 35 years in service and 60 years of age,
whichever comes first.
“Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (8) of this
section, any person appointed to the office of Inspector-General of Police
shall remain in office until the end of the term stipulated in the letter of
appointment in line with the provisions of Section 7(6) of this Act,” the
legislation reads.
Since the passage of the bill in July 2024, there has been
no announcement from the presidency on the signing of the legislation by
Tinubu.
After Egbetokun turned 60 in September 2024, some persons
called for his retirement, but media reports suggested that Tinubu approved the
IGP’s stay in office till 2027.
Recently, Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the
African Action Congress (AAC) in 2023, made reference to the controversy that
trailed Egbetokun’s tenure by describing him as “illegal IGP”.
Due to the comment, the police arraigned Sowore on a
16-count charge for allegedly publishing false information against the IGP.
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