Buhari may extend IG’s tenure by six months, CUPP kicks

President Muhammadu Buhari may have approved a six-month tenure
extension for the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, PUNCH
report.

But the opposition political parties, under the aegis of the
Coalition of United Political Parties, are threatening to drag
President Muhammadu Buhari before the court over the plannedtenure
extension.

The President was said to have agreed in principle to grant the
IG additional six months in office to enable him to coordinate and
supervise the forthcoming general elections in the country.

Officially, Idris is due to retire from the Nigeria Police Force
on January 3, 2019, having put in the mandatory 35 years in
service. But he was said to have lobbied some senior Presidency
functionaries, who, in turn, got Buhari to extend the IG’s
tenure.

A top source, who confirmed the development to one of our
correspondents in Abuja on Saturday, explained that the IG might
get the official confirmation of the tenure extension “any moment
from now.”

He said, “It is a done deal; the IG’s tenure has already been
extended because the Presidency has confidence in him. He would get
the official confirmation any moment from now; that is if he hasn’t
received it already.

“Extending the IG’s tenure is not unexpected. The other service
chiefs had their tenure extended by a year. So, giving Idris the
same privilege is nothing out of the ordinary.”

Meanwhile, the planned extension of tenure, the CUPP claimed,
would only afford the police boss the opportunity to do the
President’s bidding and work for the ruling All Progressives
Congress in the general elections.

They have therefore resolved to resist the move, claiming the
nation’s constitution does not make any provision for tenure
extension.

The first national spokesperson for the CUPP, Imo Ugochinyere,
in an interview with our reporter on Friday, said the opposition
parties were shifting their attention to the leadership of the
force following Buhari’s decision not to sign the Electoral Act
(Amendment) Bill and the inability of federal lawmakers to override
his veto.

He said, “We are insisting that the Inspector-General of Police,
whose tenure is expiring in January, must leave the office.

“So, we are demanding that the President should not extend his
tenure because there is no such provision in the constitution. A
former police officer cannot be an Inspector-General of Police. We
will be filing an action in court to ensure that he leaves office
in January.”

Also, the Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and
Constitution has kicked against the alleged tenure elongation,
noting that Idris had so far “demonstrated lack of capacity and
inability to effectively police Nigeria as the IG.”

The CDNDC Coordinator, Dare Atoye, argued that wanton killings
and criminality had increased under Idris leadership of the police,
adding that there were more competent officers in the NPF that
could do the job better.

He said, “The only good thing that can happen to the Nigeria
police is for the government of President Buhari to look for a
competent replacement; somebody who has the discipline and the
character to lead the force. I believe many Nigerians would agree
with me that the wanton killings in the country and the lack of
training without equipment have been aggravated under his
leadership.”

Appraising the alleged reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,
the activist observed that no reform had taken place, noting that
the impunity being carried out by the squad was merely
suppressed.

He cited the arrest and arraignment of an Abuja-based activist,
Deji Adeyanju, by the police for homicide, a charge for which he
was discharged and acquitted by a Kano High Court in 2009.

The Secretary-General, Basic Rights Enlightenment Foundation,
Ikechukwu Maduike, also kicked against the government’s decision,
stressing that “the police had become worse under the IG.”

The lawyer said, “We need someone who has new ideas so we can
see something new in the force. I don’t think this IG has what it
takes to transform the police force.”

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