THE Senate has passed the Police Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeking to amend the Police Act 2020 to among others enable the current Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to complete his tenure.
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The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the bill after the third reading on Tuesday, July 23.
President Bola Tinubu had also forwarded the Bill to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The arrival of the bill was announced on Tuesday, July 23, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen.
The Speaker read the correspondence from the President at the beginning of the plenary.
The bill proposed amendments to the Police Act, with emphasis on the tenure of the IGP.
In July, claims that Kayode Egbetokun attempted to lobby the National Assembly to raise the retirement age of officers were refuted by the police.
Tinubu named Egbetokun the IGP for a four-year term in June 2023.
In accordance with Section 18(8) of the Police Act 2020, Egbetokun, who was born on September 4, 1964, is expected to retire in September 2024 when he clocks 60.
If Egbetokun retires by September, he will have served for one year and three months.
This is not the first time the tenure of a serving IGP has led to controversy.
Recall in 2021 that former President Muhammadu Buhari in violation of the Police Act, extended the tenure of Mohammed Adamu as IGP.
Muhammad Dingyadi, then Nigerian Minister of Police Affairs, announced this to newsmen in the State House, Abuja.
He said the President’s decision to extend the IGP’s tenure for another three months was to give time for the proper selection of a new police helmsman.
Egbetokun’s predecessor, Usman Baba had the same narrative. Baba reached the required 35 years of service in March 2023 when he became 60, but he stayed in office until Tinubu took over power from Buhari and named Egbetokun as his successor three months later.
The 2020 amended Police Act, signed into law by Buhari in September 2020 specifically spelt out the tenure of the police force personnel.
The Act pegs the retirement age of police officers at 60 years and 35 as years of service.
Part 111 Section 7 (6) of the Act, which repealed the Police Act Cap.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 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier.
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