The House of Representatives on Thursday held a public hearing on the Police Service Commission Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2020 and the National Institute for Police Studies (Establishment) Bill 2020.
The sponsor of the bills, Yusuf Gagdi, said they were aimed at correcting anomalies in the Police Service Commission (PSC).
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He said the bill would address the issue of gender disparity on the appointment of Inspector-General of Police.
“There are issues of gender bias in the former Police Act, where a woman can’t rise to the position of Commissioner of Police let alone attaining the position of the Inspector General of Police.
“In terms of recruitment, the restriction of women is quite obvious but the same Police Act addressed those disparities,” Gagdy said.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, who said proposed laws would address insecurity, however, faulted the attempt to remove the power of the president to remove the chairman of the PSC.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said the PSC, as an important component of police operations, requires expertise and should be headed by professionals.
Speaking on behalf of civil society organisations, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the appointment of a former IGP as chairman of the PSC “subverts the independence and impartiality of the PSC.”
In his opening remarks, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said Nigerians deserved a Police Force they could trust and which would act within the limits of the law.
He said the nation must weed out bad eggs in the Police Force.
