ECHOES of the controversial extension of the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police continue to reverberate across the landscape. Though the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), declared that the amendment of the Police Act by the National Assembly in 2024 was in order, the effect of the extension of Kayode Egbetokun?s tenure is threatening the cohesion of the Nigeria Police.

Egbetokun was appointed IG in October 2023 and was supposed to retire upon reaching 60 on September 4, 2024.

Shortly before that, President Bola Tinubu pushed the Police Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 to the NASS to amend the Police Act of 2020. This was to enable Egbetokun to complete a full term of four years.

The Public Service Rule 020810 declares a compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service to be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.

However, there are exceptions in certain sectors, such as judges and civil servants in tertiary institutions that provide for retirement at 70 and 65 years, respectively.

The extension of the retirement age has become contentious among civil servants, with the Nigerian Labour Congress in 2023 calling for an upward review from 60 years of age or 35 years in service to 65 and 40, respectively.

The exception made for Egbetokun as the sole beneficiary of the extension of age is generating rancour in the Force.

About 200 officers are gunning for a similar consideration. Some of them reportedly falsified their birth records, notching up to as much as 44 years in service.

A situation akin to a mutiny is already brewing in the Force, with reports of dissatisfaction within the top hierarchy.

The amendment had met with stiff opposition from the Minister of Police Affairs, Police Service Commission, National Salaries and Wages Commission and other stakeholders at the public hearing organised to discuss the contentious amendment.

The situation got messier recently when the PSC directed officers who had stayed beyond the mandatory retirement age to quit the Force.

The entire mess would have been avoided if the authorities concerned had premised promotions on rules and regulations.

Even though the police and the AGF have defended the tenure extension, the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners has countered them.

The association stated that only an amendment to the 1999 Constitution could legalise the tenure extension, citing sections 214, 215 and 216 of the Constitution.

Promotions ought to be about competence and not age. By the tenure extension for Egbetokun, the Tinubu administration has triggered an implosion in the Force. The fact that some officers declared they would not retire is akin to a mutiny.

They reportedly have stated that the extension accorded to the IG should be extended to them. This indicates widespread dissatisfaction about the matter within the Force.

It is unfathomable that the same senior officers who should ordinarily be expected to support the IG have found themselves in a position to oppose an action favouring him.

Even though the senior officers may have been well within their rights to challenge their retirement in court, there is the potential risk of diluting the command structure.

If the Tinubu administration believes police officers deserve to be treated like some other civil servants benefitting from a general extension, it should present a bill to the NASS to make it a law.

This will assuage the misgivings about the hasty amendment of the Police Act that granted only the IG a tenure extension. (The PUNCH Editorial)

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