IGP’s Four-Year Appointment Not Recent Development; Its Supported By Existing Legal Provisions.

The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has stated that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, does not need to engage in lobbying for any tenure extension.

In a statement to journalists on Friday, the police spokesperson noted that the IGP’s “appointment letter explicitly grants him a four-year tenure from the date of his appointment.”

Adejobi disclosed that “the attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to various misleading reports and misinterpretations concerning the tenure of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, PhD, NPM, and wishes to categorically state that what His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, approved for the IGP is not an extension of tenure, but rather the proper application of the law governing the tenure of the office of the IGP.

“Contrary to the misinformation being circulated on social media and in the news, an appointment letter in circulation was issued to the IGP shortly after his appointment was confirmed by the Police Council.

“This letter, dated 3rd November 2023, clearly stated that the President had approved a four-year tenure for the IGP under the provisions of Section 215(a) and Section 28(c) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“It is important to emphasise that the IGP does not need to lobby for any tenure extension, as his appointment letter explicitly grants him a four-year tenure from the date of his appointment.

“The ongoing circulation of false information is the handiwork of pessimists and mischief makers who are determined to spread baseless narratives against the office and the personality of the IGP for obvious reasons and pecuniary gains.

“Furthermore, the IGP has since been issued with another letter per the provisions of the Police Act, 2020 (as amended), which supersedes the earlier correspondence. This clarification is necessary to put an end to the speculations and falsehoods being spread.

“We urge the public to disregard the unfounded reports and to trust that the tenure of the IGP is in full compliance with the laws governing the Nigeria Police Force. In clear terms, the IGP’s tenure of office is not subject to unnecessary debate and should not be a source of perennial distraction to the policing system in Nigeria. The law is sacrosanct.”