PSC bows to pressure, removes Naja’atu from election duty

The Police Service Commission has replaced the former Director of the Civil Society directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, as one of the coordinators that will supervise conduct of police officers during general forthcoming elections.

Her removal came barely five hours after the ruling APC protested her inclusion among 45 coordinators who will monitor the conduct of the police officers on election duty.

Daily Trust had reported that the Commission assigned Muhammad as one of the coordinators who would supervise the conduct of police officers’ affairs, but the Director Public Affairs and Spokesman of the APC campaign council, Festus Keyamo, in a statement on Monday, said she should be withdrawn immediately.

Keyamo stated in the statement that the appointment is not only “callous, it is insensitive, openly confrontational and consequently unacceptable by the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council”.

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But the commission immediately bowed to pressure, saying it had asked a former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Bawa Lawal (rtd) who is from the same geopolitical zone with Commissioner Najatu to take over the coordination of the monitoring of Police Conduct in the zone.

Ikechukwu Ani, spokesman of the commission, told Daily Trust that “the commission will always be sensitive to the wishes of Nigerians and will continue to contribute it’s quota to the sustenance of the nation’s democracy.”

Ani explained, “The Commission wishes to state with all sense of responsibility that its commissioners representing different geopolitical zones have always supervised assignments of the commission in the geopolitical zones they represent. It was the same with the present national assignment.

“It wishes to restate its commitment to a free and fair 2023 elections where the Police as the lead Agency in internal security which includes election policing will discharge it’s duties according to the dictates of the law.”