Acting Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi (retd.), has decried the rampant cases of the garnishee of the accounts of the commission by courts on matters directly related to the operational duties of the police which has nothing to do with the PSC.
Speaking when she received leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by its president, Barr Yakubu Maikyau, Monday, Justice Ogunbiyi lamented that lawyers erroneously sue the PSC for breach of the fundamental rights of the populace “whereas the commission was not liable”.
PSC Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, in a press statement, Tuesday in Abuja, said the acting chairman cited the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Nuhu vs. Sale & Ors (2017) ACN Pt 1 Pg 197 paragraph E to F where the liability of the 4th Respondent (PSC) was pronounced thus “The 4th Respondent is not in the position to dictate the duties of the respondents but rather it is either the Commissioner of Police or Inspector-General of Police as the case may be, who does.
“The control of the Servant by a Master is a factor to consider in a contract of service and the 4th Respondent has no such control over the respondents to render it vicariously liable for their wrong doing,” she stated.
Justice Ogunbiyi also cited Regulation 341 of the Police Act and Regulations CAP P19 LFN 2004 which stated; “In the individual exercise of his power as a police officer, every Police Officer shall be personally liable for any misuse of his powers or for any act done in the excess of his authority.”
She called on the NBA president to assist the PSC pass the information to his members to save the commission from these garnishee problems.
