Attorney Requests That The Court Disallow Egbetokun From Presenting Himself As The IGP

President Bola Tinubu and Mr. Kayode Egbetokun have been hauled before a Federal High Court in Abuja by human rights activist and attorney Maxwell Opara. Opara is requesting that the court prevent Egbetokun from posing as Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police.

Additionally, the attorney is requesting that the court rule that Egbetokun, who turned 60 on September 4, 2024, cannot continue to serve as Inspector General of Police.

Opara further requested that the court rule that an appointment that has been canceled by operation of law cannot be reinstated retrospectively by a later modified statute.

The suit hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, did not have his tenure extended by President Bola Tinubu, according to a statement released on Friday and signed by Force spokeswoman Muyiwa Adejobi.

Rather, he added, the President acquiesced to the law as needed to govern the office’s duration.

The statement said, “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to categorically state that what President Bola Tinubu approved for the Inspector General of Police is not an extension of tenure, but rather the proper application of the law governing the tenure of the office of the IGP. The force has been alerted to various misleading reports and misinterpretations concerning the tenure of the IGP.”

“The IGP received an appointment letter shortly after the Police Council confirmed his appointment, notwithstanding the false information that is circulating on social media and in the media.

“This letter, dated November 3, 2023, made it very evident that the President had granted the IGP a four-year term in compliance with the provisions of Sections 215(a) and 28(c) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Third Schedule.”

Adejobi claims that since the IGP hasn’t yet used up the years specified in his appointment letter, he doesn’t need to advocate for a tenure extension.

It is crucial to stress that the IGP has a specific four-year tenure from the date of his appointment in his appointment letter, therefore he does not need to advocate for any kind of term extension. He continued, “The persistent dissemination of misleading information is the product of cynics and miscreants who are desperate to disseminate unfounded stories against the IGP’s office and persona for clear financial gain.