THE Nigerian Police Service Commission has compulsorily retired 4 senior Deputy Inspectors-General of Police.
The spokesperson for the commission, Ikechukwu Ani, made this known to newsmen in Abuja on Monday.
The 4 affected Deputy-Inspectors Generals were faulted for not retiring after the appointment of their colleague, Olukayode Egbetokun, as the acting Inspector-General of Police.
He explained that the order for compulsory retirement of the affected 4 is pursuant to the Third Schedule, Part 1 M, para A&B of the 1999 Constitution, reinforced with Section 6 of the PSC (Establisment) Act 2001, paragraphs a, c, d, e, & f.
He explained further that the 4 affected outranked Egbetokun prior to his appointment as IG and were, thus, expected to retire voluntarily in line with the customs of the Police Force.
“In the wake of the appointment of the acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun on June 19, 2023 by Mr President, the Commission had expected in consonance with the revered tradition of discipline and regimented culture of the Nigeria Police Force that those DIGS who were seniors in rank prior to his elevation will voluntarily apply for retirement or elect to leave the Force.
“The Commission, having waited for ample time with no such application from any of them, took the decision to compulsorily retire them in order to uphold discipline which is the bedrock of the Force, and to discourage status reversal which is inherently inimical to the exercise of authority by the Inspector General,” the Spokesman said.
The 4 senior Deputy Inspectors-General of Police are : Dan-Mallam Mohammed, Moses Jitiboh, Hafiz Inuwa and Adeleke Bode.
The Force subsequently approved the appointment of 4 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to replace the retired DIGs.
The 4 approved Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to the rank of DIGs are namely: Ibrahim Ka’oje, Daniel Sokari-Pedro, Ayuba Ekpeji and Usman Nagogo.
Their appointments, however, will only be confirmed after due authorization by the board of the commission.
Ani noted that the approved 4 come from the same geo-political regions as the retired 4.
He also pointed out that the approved 4 are free of any unresolved disciplinary cases and have no medical concerns.