The Nigeria Police Force may have snubbed the Police Service Commission (PSC) over the latter’s directive that Force Headquarters should regularise the dates of first appointment for Cadet Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) and Inspectors.
The PSC had, in sending the directive to the Police High Command, had aimed to correct the discrepancies between the cadet training commencement dates of affected officers and their dates of official enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force.
The PSC’s directive, if it had been carried out, would have aligned officers’ service records with the Public Service Rule No. 020908, which pegs retirement upon reaching 35 years of service or attaining 60 years of age, whichever comes first.
The directive, by standardising appointment dates, would have also ensured that all officers’ service durations are calculated uniformly, thereby promoting fairness in retirement timelines and adherence to public service regulations.
But in an exclusive report published on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, Premium Times cited an internal memo with reference number CH:8400/FS5/FHQ/AB3/VOL.2/293 issued by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, which instructed officers to “stay action” on the PSC’s directive pending further orders from Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The memo, the report noted, was a reversal of an earlier directive by the IGP, who had earlier on February 1, 2025, approved the implementation of the PSC’s decision.
Egbetokun’s Contradictory directives
In a prior communication dated January 31, 2025, Egbetokun had the IGP had ordered the Force Secretary to ensure full implementation of the PSC’s resolution.
However, the suspension of the PSC’s directive may have been induced by another contentious decision: the mass retirement of senior police officers who are either above 60 years or have served for over 35 years.
The PSC confirmed the decision via a statement issued by its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, on January 31, 2025, citing compliance with Public Service Rule No. 020908 (i & ii), which mandates retirement upon attaining 35 years in service or 60 years of age.
“The commission at its 1st extraordinary meeting of the 6th Management Board approved the immediate retirement of those officers who have spent more than 35 years in service and those above 60 years of age,” the PSC said in the statement.
The decision effectively purges the force of officers who are age-mates of the current Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, who, despite turning 60 on September 4, 2024, remains in office due to a controversial amendment to the Police Act last year.
The extension of Mr Egbetokun’s tenure until 2027, enabled by the amendment passed in July 2023, has sparked widespread criticism and legal scrutiny, with some describing it as “illegal”.
However, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has defended the extension, even as the Nigeria Police Force maintains that the IGP’s tenure is lawful.
[Credit: Premium Times]
