There is said to be uncertainty already over what happens at the Louis Edet House, headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the Inspector General of Police Mohammed A. Adamu is due to retire Monday.
Adamu, a member of the Police’s ASP Cadet Course 14, is due to retire on account of service years. The IGP clocks 35 years in service on Monday, having enlisted in the Police Force on February 1, 1986.
Typically, retiring IGPs have “pull out” ceremonies on their last day in office. But sources at the Police headquarters say there are no such plans yet for the outgoing police boss.
The Police Act, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last year, pegs the retirement age of police officers at 60 years of age or 35 years of service.
Section 18(8) of the new Police Act states: “Every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for 35 years or until the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.”
However, hours to Adamu’s statutory retirement day, the Presidency is yet to announce a new inspector general of police or extend the tenure of the current occupant of the office.
By law, the police chief is appointed by the president on the “advice” of the Police Council. The Council is chaired by the president and has the 36 state governors, Chairman of the Police Service Commission and the IGP as members.
There is intense lobby within the power cycles in Abuja with Adamu still said to be hopeful of a tenure extension.
No official comment from the Force Headquarters as its spokesman, CP Frank Mba, declined calls from journalists.
But a source said there were mixed feelings about the exit of IGP Adamu.
One of the sources said, “While some officers are happy about his exit, others are saying they would miss a gentleman.”
A serving senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he has no mandate to speak to the media expressed fears that extending the IGP’s tenure will demoralise “officers who are hopeful of reaching the zenith of their chosen career.”
The Police Act provides for a tenure of four years for the Inspector General of Police.
Section 7 subsection 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 as four years.
It is unclear what direction the president would follow with lobbyists bandying theories that favour their preferred candidates.
Those working for the incumbent IGP are selling the idea of the need to allow him to consolidate on his “reforms”. During the week, police spokesperson Mba published a newspaper article praising Adamu’s stewardship.
Those arguing for the president to pick any of the northern officers made case for competence and trust as yardsticks the president should consider in making the decision. They argue that the officers, especially the prominent AIGs being touted as possible successors to Adamu, have the requite experience in core police duties.
Meanwhile, senior police officers are already said to be working directly and through proxies to lobby for the plump job.
While some top officers in the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) and Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) will leave with the IGP on February 1, or soon after, there are a few of them who are hopeful of getting the post.
-dailytrust
