The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday filed a law suit against President Muhammadu Buhari challenging his decision to extend the tenure of Mohammed Adamu, the inspector-general of police (IGP).
Adamu was supposed to have retired in February after completing the maximum 35 years in service but was given a three month extension by the President.
The president citing that the extension was necessary in order to give room for a proper selection of a new successor.
In the suit filed at a federal high court in Lagos, the Public Interest Litigation Committee of the NBA is seeking an order asking Adamu to vacate office.
The lawyers argued that Adamu’s continuous stay in office is in contravention of the provisions of section 215(1)(a) of the constitution.
“An order directing the 3rd Defendant to vacate forthwith the office of the Inspector General of Police and refund all salaries, allowances and benefits received from February 1, 2021, (when he retired from the Police Force) to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria”, the suit read.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st Defendant either by himself and/or acting through any of his Ministers, officers, servants and/or under any guise further breach the provision of Section 215(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended by extending the tenure of the occupant of the office of the Inspector General of Police of Nigeria.”
NBA president Olumide Akpata said the suit was filed in line with the association’s motto of promoting the rule of law.
“The NBA’s decision to take this extraordinary line of action is underpinned by an urgent need, and a sacred duty, to reassert the supremacy of the rule of law in the face of growing impunity and the seeming reluctance of law officers in government to give proper counsel,” he said.
“The NBA’s position in the suit is that Mr Adamu ceased to be a member of the Nigeria Police Force when he attained the milestone of thirty-five years of service. Therefore, the President’s extension of Mr Adamu’s tenure by three months, in the NBA’s respectful view, is unconstitutional.
“In the grand scheme of things, the NBA is wary that the more government officials casually violate the law, the harder it would become to expect citizens to be compliant. Citizens take their cues from their leaders and public office holders who flout the laws of the country that they are meant to uphold will discover sooner or later that their examples will be followed by those that they purport to govern.
“The ubiquity of acts of impunity, especially by those in high public offices, portends an existential threat to the survival of this country and her hard-won democracy. The NBA, now more than ever, is firmly committed to changing this narrative.
“As the outcome of the Suit is awaited, the NBA will continue to condemn and confront lawlessness in any form and from all quarters,” Akpata noted.
