Ozekhome faults Buhari’s ‘unconstitutional, nepotistic’ appointment of Alkali as IGP

Human rights lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has criticised the appointment of Usman Alkali Baba as acting Inspector-General of Police, describing it as unconstitutional and nepotistic.
Ozekhome enumerated his stance via a detailed statement on Wednesday, April 7, titled ‘Buhari’s Northernisation Of The Nigeria Police Force’.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday announced the appointment of Baba to succeed Mohammed Adamu.

Adamu, whose tenure ended in February after completion of his mandatory 35 years of service, got a three-month extension by the President but he had only spent about two months of the three-month extension when he was replaced.

However, in his statement, Ozekhome stated that President Buhari does not have the unilateral wherewithal to “appoint an IGP, as he has again unconstitutionally and illegally done” according to the dictates of “paragraph 7 to the 3rd Schedule of the 1999 Constitution.”

“He can only do so in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Council comprising of Mr President as chairman, all the 36 state Governors, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission and the IGP.

READ ALSO: Court restrains EFCC from arresting Ozekhome for allegedly criticising Magu

“Such an appointment as just happened before the new Acting IGP is capricious, arbitrary, whimsical, unconscionable, illegal, unlawful, wrongful and unconstitutional. It eulogises strong men rather than strong institutions.

Furthermore, the lawyer accused the President of favouring the North regarding recent appointments into key positions in the administration.

“Today, Buhari has again appointed DIG Usman Alkali Baba, a Northern Muslim, as Acting Inspector General of Police, to replace Adamu Mohammad, another Northern Muslim. With Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, another Northern Muslim as the Minister of Police Affairs, the circle of policing in Nigeria is complete,” he railed.

The human rights lawyer also querried, “By the way, can’t President Muhammadu Buhari for once, just for once, in his opaque appointments look beyond his religion and immediate and forsake sectionalism, cronyism, prebendalism, tribalism, favouritism, and act as a true statesman?”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now