On the appointment of Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police of a State, Clause 13 of the House of Representatives’ Bill supplants Section 215 of the Principal Act (1999 Constitution as Amended) as follows:
“215. (1) The Federal Police shall be headed by an Inspector-General of Police who shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Federal Police, subject to confirmation by the Senate. (2) The Federal Police shall be under the command of the Inspector General of Police, including contingents of the Federal Police stationed in a State. (3) The President or such other Minister of the Government of the Federation as he may authorise on that behalf may give to the Inspector-General of Po1ice such lawful directions concerning the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary, and the Inspector-General of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with.
(4) A State Police shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police who shall be appointed by the Governor of the State on the advice of the Federal Police Service Commission from among serving members of the State Police subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly. (5) The Governor or such other Commissioner of the Government of the State, as he may authorise on that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police such lawful directions concerning the maintenance and securing of public safety and order as he may consider necessary, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with – Provided that where the Commissioner of Police feels that the direction given under this subsection is unlawful or contradicts general policing standards or practice, he may request that the matter be referred to the State Police Service Commission for review and decision of the State Police Service Commission shall be final.”
With regards to the process through which the Inspector-General of the Police and the Commissioner of Police of a State can be removed from office, Clause 14 of the Bill deletes “Section 216 of the Principal Act (1999 Constitution as Amended) and inserts the following instead thereof as the new Section 216:
“216 (1) An Inspector-General of Police shall only be removed by the President upon the recommendation of the Nigeria Police Council praying that he be so removed on any of the following grounds – (a) Misconduct in the discharge of his official duties; (b) Breach of Police Act, Regulation, Code and Code of Conduct; (c) Conviction of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty by a court of law or tribunal; (d) Bankruptcy; or (e) Mental incapacity. (2) The removal under Subsection (1) of this Section shall be subject to approval by a resolution of a two third majority of the Senate.
(3) A Commissioner of Police of a State shall only be removed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Federal Police Service Commission praying that he be so removed on any of the following grounds – (a) Misconduct in the performance of his official duties; (b) Breach of policing standards, law, Regulation, Code and Code of Conduct; (c) Conviction of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty by a court of law or tribunal; (d) Bankruptcy; or (e) Mental incapacity. (4) The removal under Subsection (3) of this Section shall be subject to approval by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly of the State.”
Given the scale of abuse of power at the sub national level, we laud the proposals to ensure the Governor of a state is not invested with absolute power to hire and fire a Commissioner of Police. We welcome the modes of appointment and removal of a Commissioner of Police of a State. The checks and balances provided in the Bill will prevent or limit the possibility of abuse of the law enforcement agency by the helmsman of any of the federating states, hence allay the genuine fears of antagonists of state police.
However, during the last administration, we had cause to draw the attention of the public to the unconstitutional practice of the successive Presidents hiring and firing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) without recourse to the Nigeria Police Council, which turned every IGP into a stooge of the President, an instrument of abuse. In the event of the Head of State or the Governor side-stepping constitutional provisions with regards to federal or state police, we are of the view that there should be consequences. Any breach of the constitutional provision should amount to gross misconduct. Therefore, the Head of State and heads of the federating states must be sticklers for the rule of law and constitutionalism.
We urge the House of Representatives to expedite action on the final stages of the Bill and call on the Senate to act with promptitude with regards to its eventual concurrence.
