Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu’s retirement is close, time is ticking and tension is rising.
The battle for the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is getting tough, as the incumbent, Mohammed Adamu, statutorily retires on February 1, 2021. This has brewed some sort of internal war in the Louis Edet House, headquarters of the NPF, Abuja. There have been plots by powers that be to favor some Northern candidates for the position of the next IGP.
Part 111 Section 7 (6) of the Act, which cancelled the Police Act Cap. P19, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, prescribed a four year single tenure for a person appointed to the office of the IGP subject to the provisions of clause 18 (8), which stipulates that every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.
Twenty-three of the 24 AIGs are up for retirement between January 8, 2021 and March 1, 2023, either based on enlistment or age. Placing the youngest AIG Moses Jitoboh in that vantage position to be the next IGP. AIG Moses Jitoboh, the youngest of them all, has more than eight years left in service.
We must however commend Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari who on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 assented to the Police Bill. The new law replaces its 1943 colonial antecedent which has regulated the Nigeria Police Force for 77 years with several provisions becoming obsolete over time.
The Bill was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly by July 2020 and had been awaiting presidential assent for the past several weeks. The Nigeria Police Force (Establishment) Act 2020 seeks to provide for more efficiency in police service. Its provisions complement the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, codifies the Police Complaints Response Unit, provides for mandatory training of officers, as well as a Police Reward Fund.
In addition, it promotes the set-up of community policing structures nationwide, a topic that has been on the front burner of the country’s security architecture in recent times. The Act has improved checks on police powers to ensure the protection of human rights.
Our reliable sources said the pendulum is swinging in the direction of AIG Moses Jitoboh, the only serving general duty officer on that rank who is not threatened by any provision of the Police Act 2020.
He is a multiple degree holder and PhD candidate in Geographical Information System at the Graduate School of Abia State University and alumni of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau State. He also holds a Certificate in Negotiation and Leadership, Harvard Law School Programme on Negotiation, Harvard University, Boston, USA, as well as Certificate in National and International Security Policy, Harvard Kennedy School for Governance, also at Harvard University. Between 2018 and 2019, he was Commissioner of Police General Investigations (GI) at the Force criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (FCIID) Annex, Alagbon, Lagos. He was Aide-de-Camp (ADC) and Chief Personal Security Officer (CPSO) to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015.
By these qualifications, AIG Jitoboh should have been preparing to take charge of police affairs from IGP Adamu, a Muslim northerner from Nasarawa.
However, an obstacle has been put in place by the powers that be: He is a Southerner. Jitoboh, who is from the southern geopolitical zone, is currently in charge of the force’s Research and Statistics and has served the nation assiduously. He was an AIG in charge of Zone 8 police command as well as Commissioner of police, Adamawa State police command. The Nigeria Police Force had been bedeviled by a lot of challenges and the succession battle for the position of IGP has always been tough.
There are many concerns however, if the president is loath to accept a Christian southerner of Ijaw extraction with the potential to lead the police for nine years. There are also concerns that some powers-that-be are now racing to circumvent the law and pave the way for four northern commissioners of police to be the only available candidates for the top law enforcement office.
Though information has it that no decision has been made yet to promote Mr. Jitoboh as DIG, and that the matter would be on the front burner at the next plenary scheduled to hold anytime this week. A presidency source also confirmed that two meetings had been held over the past week on who would be the next IG, and it was concluded that Mr. Jitoboh should be frustrated from getting the position in favour of Dasuki Galandachi. One cannot but wonder why the powers that be are strongly against the emergence of Mr. Jitoboh? The stench that reeks out of the pattern of nepotistic appointments into top positions in Nigeria calls for serious national concern.
AIG Moses Jitaboh, is currently in charge of the force’s Research and Statistics and has served the nation assiduously. Quite frankly, the Police Service Commission has no basis to ignore the law because they want to prevent one man from attaining a position in the police. This fight from within must stop, and PSC must let the law prevail. This is also a clarion call on President Buhari not bowing to pressures to evade the path of justice and equity.
