Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the ‘unconstitutional’ tenure elongation of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
NBA commenced the legal action at Lagos Division of Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/214/2021.
The defendants in the suit include the President, the IGP himself and Police Service Commission.
Adamu earlier this month attained the retirement age having done 35 years in service, but the president extended his tenure by three months, which set tongues wagging.
Read Also: Breaking: President Buhari Extends IGP, Mohammed Adamu’s Tenure By Three Months
Public Interest Litigation Committee of the NBA is now seeking a court order asking Adamu to vacate office.
The lawyers argued that Adamu’s continuous stay in office is in contravention of the provisions of section 215(1)(a) of the constitution.
NBA sought an order “setting aside the purported elongation of the tenure” of the IGP, stressing;
An order directing the 3rd Defendant to vacate forthwith the office of the Inspector General of Police and refund all salaries, allowances and benefits received from February 1, 2021, (when he retired from the Police Force) to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Commenting on the suit, Olumide Akpata, NBA president, said the action was taken due to the body’s motto of promoting the rule of law.
He expressed;
The NBA’s decision to take this extraordinary line of action is underpinned by an urgent need and a sacred duty to reassert the supremacy of the rule of law in the face of growing impunity and seeming reluctance of law officers in government to give proper counsel.
The NBA’s position in the suit is that Mr Adamu ceases to be a member of the Nigeria Police Force when he attained the milestone of thirty-five years of service. Therefore, the President’s extension of Mr Adamu’s tenure by three months, in the NBA respectful view, is unconstitutional.
Akpata added;
The ubiquity of acts of impunity, especially by those in high public offices, portends and existential threat to the survival of this country and her hard-won democracy. The NBA, now more than ever, is firmly committed to changing this narrative.
As the outcome of the suit is awaited, the NBA will continue to condemn and confront lawlessness in any form and from all quarter.
