Fred Itua, Abuja
The Senate, yesterday, passed an amendment bill that allows the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) a single term of four years.
The bill was titled “An Act to Repeal the Police Act, Cap. Pl9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Enact the Police Act, 2020.”
The Senate also approved the establishment of Nigeria Police Council.
According to details of the bill, the council, among other things, shall recommend to the President a suitable officer to be appointed as IGP and would also advice the President before a substantive IGP can be sacked.
It reads: “It should be made binding on the Inspector-General of Police to adhere to policing plans. The national policing plan should be made with inputs from the Police Force Headquarters and all the various police formations nationwide before the end of each financial year, setting out priorities, objectives, cost implications and expected outcomes of policing for the next succeeding financial year, in order to change budgeting from a top-down approach to a hitch-up approach.
“The police should abide and enforce certain constitutional provisions, particularly fundamental rights at persons in police custody, under Chapter 4 of the l999 Constitution (as amended) and other international instruments on human rights to which Nigeria is a signatory (including of provisions that reiterate the importance of fundamental human rights and advocating for their observance).
“On the appointment and removal of the Inspector-General of Police, the provisions of the Constitution, in line with Section 2l5 of the l999 Constitution (as amended), should be retained, as any proposal contrary to this provision will require Constitution alteration for it to be viable.”