Inspector-General Of Police, Adamu Lobbies For Tenure Extension, Amidst His Feb 1 Retirement Date

As the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu reaches the mandatory limit of 35 years in service on February 1, 2021, intense lobbying has begun for the seat even as  Mr. Adamu is also eager to get an extension, Daily Trust is reporting.

By law, the police chief is appointed by the president on the “advice” of the Police Council.

This Council is chaired by the president and has the 36 state governors, chairman of the Police Service Commission, and the IGP as members.

Many insiders say the IGP has President Buhari’s trust

Adamu, a member of the ASP Cadet Course 14 of 1986, is due to retire seven months ahead of his 60th birthday.

He was born in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on September 17, 1961, and enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on February 1, 1986.

The Police Act, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last year, provides a tenure system for the position and reiterated retirement terms like 60 years of age or 35 years of service.

Hope for extension

However, Daily Trust gathered that amidst intense lobbying in the power cycles in Abuja, Mr. Adamu is banking on the extension of his tenure as the country’s top cop in what insiders dub “the service chiefs treatment.”

This, however, is not without opposition as some powerful individuals are pushing for the candidacy of some senior police officers to replace him.

This is as analysts believe that the expiration of the tenure of this police boss presents an opportunity for President Buhari to address concerns over the appointment of heads of the country’s security institutions.

The Chief of Defense Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ikwe Ibas, are on extra time provided by presidential fiat.

There has been growing outcry for the president to let the service chiefs go, including by a resolution of the National Assembly.

Prominent Nigerians, including the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, also declared that the overstay of the service chiefs affected current internal security operations and the morale of officers.

Aso Rock spokespersons, however, insist the president has the prerogative to bend the rules to work with whomever he wants.

Daily Trust gathered that there are strong voices advocating against repeating “the mistake in the military” with the police.

They say extending the tenure of the police chief will breed disaffection and throw many of Adamu’s juniors out of the force.

Mr. Adamu’s tenure extension bid is backed by a top presidential aide and some governors, it was gathered.

If he succeeds, it will follow a pattern established by the Buhari presidency, which has extended the tenure of heads of other security agencies.

A new practice

Aside from the top military brass, the government has also accorded extra time to heads of paramilitary organizations; hence speculations that the police would not be different.

The heads of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have had their tenures extended by between six and 18 months.

The Comptroller-General of the NCoS, Jaafaru Ahmed, was due to retire on July 21, 2019, but got a one-year presidential extension to July 2020.

This was again extended by another six months, at the instance of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Argebesola.

The tenure of NSCDC’s Abdullahi Muhammadu Gana, which expired in July 2020, was extended through presidential approval by six months. The extension lapses this month.

Immigration chief, Mohammed Babandede’s tenure, which was extended in mid-2020 by six months, has again lapsed. No appointment has been made to replace any of the senior security officials.

What the law says

The new Police Act signed by President Buhari in September last year provides for a tenure of four years for the Inspector-General of Police.

The new law excluded persons on the rank of Commissioner of Police and below from being appointed to the position.

Section 7 sub-section 2 of the act provides that: “The person to be appointed as Inspector-General of Police shall be a senior police officer not below the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police with the requisite academic qualification of not less than a first degree or its equivalent, in addition to professional or management experience.”

The section also pegs the tenure of the police chief to four years.