President Bola Tinubu has approved the extension of the tenure of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, sources at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), have disclosed.
According to officials, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday on condition of anonymity, said that the IGP’s tenure was extended by three years. They said the SGF, George Akume, gave the IGP the letter of his tenure extension on Monday.
A senior security officer at the SGF Office also confirmed that the IGP received his letter of tenure extension from Akume on Monday morning.
The Senate had, on July 23, passed a bill that amended the Police Act 2020 introducing a new clause under Section 8, which contradicts the provision that mandates public servants to retire after 35 years of service, or at 60 years of age.
Egbetokun, who was appointed IGP in June 2023, will clock 60 years today, September 4.
The Senate had modified Section 18 of the Police Act 2020 by replacing sub-section (8) with the following revised clause: “(8) Notwithstanding any other provision, every police officer shall serve in the Nigeria Police Force for 40 years, or until they reach the age of 65, whichever comes first.”.
Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said when viewed from the point of the Nigeria Police Act, one can say the extension of IGP Egbetokun is in order, especially considering the fact that he was appointed barely over a year ago.
“However, while his appointment cannot be faulted on the above basis, we expect the Inspector-General to see the extension of his tenure to urgently commence the extensive reforms of the Police he promised to carry out during his inaugural speech upon assumption of office as the Nigeria’s number one police officer last year.
“We charge IGP Egbetokun to take urgent look into the welfare and condition of service of officers and men of the Force, as a hungry police officer with AK-47 riffles on the street is a potential threat to the lives and well-being of the citizens.
He said that Egbetokun also needs to consider embracing modern policing principles, which relies more on the use of advanced security technologies and intelligence gathering rather than heavy man power.
