The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has urged the Presidency and the National Assembly, to urgently and in the interest of peace and security of Nigerians, intervene in the current Inspector General (IG) of Police and the Police Service Commission (PSC) face-off over the recruitment of 10,000 constables for the Nigeria Police Force.
The centre at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, addressed by the Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani and the Legal Adviser and Board member, Adesina Oke, said that the intervention is necessary as the police is currently lacking adequate number of personnel to tackle the increasing security challenge in the country.
The PSC had dragged the IG before the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the powers of the IG to recruit 10,000 constables for the force, arguing that it is the Commission that is constitutionally saddled with such responsibility.
While the trial court held that the recruitment of the constables is the responsibility of the Police Management Team led by the IG, Mr Mohammed Adamu, the Court of Appeal, Abuja in a recent judgment held that the responsibility was that of the police and consequently nullified the recruitment of the 10,000 constables by the IG.
Not satisfied, the IG has approached the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and hold that it is not the Commission but the Police Management Team that has the powers to recruit constables for the police.
The CISLAC Executive Director, Rafsanjani, said, that without prejudice to the ongoing legal interpretation that is before the apex court, the current legal tussle will bring a lot of disadvantage to the country.
According to him, this is not the time for fighting over who should recruit, the warring parties must shield their sword and work together hand to tackle the myriad of security challenges bedevilling the nation.
Rafsanjani said, “There is already a tower of insecurity in the country which this recruitment ab initio was set out to curtail. Nigerians are regularly kidnapped and maimed by criminal elements in the country with little response from the police. The IG, as well as the PSC, should kindly consider the plight of Nigerians and make a u-turn on the legal tussle.
“An urgent reconciliatory structure be put together by the presidency and National Assembly to resolve the lingering but dangerous trend that might be a bad template for future reference or an enemy from within.”
He said that while the centre is not pre-empting the court, if an amicable solution is not reached on time, the huge financial resources for recruiting and training the 10,000 constables would have been wasted, and if the 10,000 constables are dropped the likelihood of some of them joining criminal elements are high since they already know police strategies in fighting crime.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
