A legal practitioner, Mr Maxwell Opara, has approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal with a motion to challenge the powers of President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Baba.
In his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/106/2021, the plaintiff urged the court to declare as illegal all actions Adamu took as head of the NPF after February 1, 2021, which was the day to be clocked the mandatory retirement age.
The appellant argued that by March 1, the IGP would cease to be a serving police officer and would therefore lack the powers to superintend over the Nigerian Police Force.
In an ex-parte motion he filed before the appellate court, Monday, Opara sought an order to restrain President Buhari from retaining the IGP in office beyond March 1, when he would have clocked the mandatory retirement age.
He wants the court to issue the restraining order, pending the hearing and conclusion of an appeal he earlier filed to determine whether a person that is no longer a Serving Police Officer, could be allowed to stay in office as an IGP.
While insisting that the president’s action is illegal, Opara, among other things, contended that by virtue of Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as Section 7 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, Adamu could not continue to function as the IGP after his retirement.
In the suit, he further prayed the court to determine whether the failure of President Buhari and the Nigeria Police Council to appoint another IGP, after the position became vacant by virtue of Adamu’s retirement, did not constitute an abdication of their duties.
Aside from the then IGP, other defendants in the suit were President Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, as well as the Nigeria Police Council.
