BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
The Labour Union of the Police Service Commission will be heading to court to file contempt charges against the Nigeria Police Force over the recruitment of its officers.
This, according to the Union, is over the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman’s blatant flouting of the Appeal Court’s judgement in September which restrained his office and through other means, from appointing, promoting, disciplining or dismissing officers or aspiring officers.
The Union, in the notice made available to The Point on Monday by the solicitor for the PSC, Ken Eluma Asogwa, recalled that Justice Peter Olabisi Ige had issued the restraining order on the NPF on September 30, 2020.
Justice Ige based his judgement on “the combined provisions of Section 153 subsection (1)(m), Section 153 subsection (2) and Section 215 subsection (1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and paragraph 30 part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution as well as Sections 6 and 24 of the Police Service Commission (Establishment) Act.”
The judge hence concluded that “the Police Service Commission is the sole statutory body exclusively empowered and responsible for the appointment, promotion, dismissal and exercise of disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold offices in the Nigeria Police Force except for the appointment of the Inspector -General of Police.”
The Lordship further declared that “any act or attempt by the Defendants in appointing, recruiting and/or shortlisting for appointment, person’s aspiring to hold any office in the Nigeria Police Force except the office of the Inspector-General of Police amounts to unlawful and unjustified usurpation of the exclusive constitutional and statutory functions and powers of the Plaintiff and accordingly null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
“The court thereafter issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, jointly and severally, by themselves or through officers, agents or representatives or through any other body or appointee of the Federal Government of Nigeria from further exercising or purporting to exercise the powers to appoint, promote, dismiss or in any manner howsoever exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold any office in the Nigeria Police Force other than the office of the Inspector-General of Police.
“The court also went further to give an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, jointly and severally, from interfering or further interfering in any manner howsoever with the Plaintiff’s discharge of its constitutional and statutory functions in respect of the appointment, promotion, dismissal, or exercise of disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold offices in the Nigeria Police Force other than the Inspector-General of Police.”
“In the light of the recent contemptuous treatment of the above judgement by the office of the Inspector-General of Police, we will be proceeding to court to commence contempt proceedings against the Nigerian police for its treatment of the above judgement with contempt,” the Union revealed.
