The decision by President Muhamadu Buhari to extend the inspector general of police, Mohammed Adamu’s term in office has been criticized by Mike Ozekhome (SAN). He described the action as “arbitrary, whimsical and unconscionable”.
Buhari on Thursday announced the term extension of Mohammed Adamu by three months.
Despite Adamu completing the thirty-five years which is the maximum number of years permitted in the Nigerian Police he received the President’s nod to remain in office for another three months.
In his reaction to the development, Ozekhome described Buhari’s decision as “unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, unconscionable, arbitrary, whimsical and capricious”, adding that the Buhari’s usually engages in a fire-brigade approach to appoint members of his cabinet.
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Ozekhome made a reference to how US President Joe Biden assembled his cabinet before the January 20th inauguration, adding that Buhari should have appointed a replacement for Adamu before the expiration of his tenure.
“The president was wrong to have purportedly extended the tenure of Mr. Adamu,” he said.
“Did he not see what just happened in America that we modeled our democracy after? Before Biden was sworn in on the 20th of January, he had already assembled his entire cabinet.
“A fire-brigade approach and doing the things that are unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, unconscionable, arbitrary, whimsical and capricious are the present acts of Mr. President.”
Ozekhome argued that the Nigerian police force has its own rules and regulations different from the civil service, adding that the tenure extension of Adamu contravened the Nigeria police act of 2020.
“The Nigeria police force is in a class of its own, that is sui generis. What do you mean by sui generis? It means that it is in a class of its own that does not go according to other laws, like the civil service rule; just like election petitions are sui generis and governed by electoral acts and electoral rules of procedures, and not by the ordinary service procedural rule that we know in our court,” he said.
“Section 7, sub-section 6 of the Nigeria police act 2020, what does it say? In very emphatic and categorical words, it says that the inspector-general of police shall serve for four years. Has Adamu served for four years? No. Could he, therefore, continue in office?
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“Why you go to section 18, sub-section 8 of the same Nigeria police act of 2020, it makes it clear, unambiguously, that the inspector-general of police shall retire from office when he would have served for 35 years, or he has attained the age of 65 years.”
He noted that Adamu has served in the force for 35 years “to the best of his ability”, adding that although “he may not have been the best inspector-general of police, I can score him definitely above average.”
