A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Ayotunde Ogunleye says the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun’s stay in office is legal.
There have been debates over the legality of the IGP’s tenure with many saying since he is over 60 years old, Egbetokun ought to have retired.
But Ogunleye said the IGP’s tenure is legally binding, squashing claims about the legality of his continued stay in office.
“My opinion is that upon a proper appreciation of the law – particularly taking into consideration the amendment to the [Police] Act in 2024 and the declaration or statement or advisory issued by the Office of the Honorable Attorney General- Kayode Egbetokun, our honorable Inspector General of Police, is legitimately occupying his office,” he said on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today. “That is the law.”
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) Omoyele Sowore has been one of the vocal critics of IGP Egbetokun’s stay in office.
Sowore has repeatedly labelled Egbetokun as an “illegal” IGP, citing the public service rules of the country which peg the retirement age for public servants at 60 years and serving for more than 35 years.
However, Ogunleye has dismissed Sowore’s comments, describing it as an “opinion” which every Nigerian is entitled to.
“The court has not declared that office illegal or that the occupant is occupying it illegally. It is therefore wrong for anybody to assume the position of adjudication and make such a bold statement which is his own opinion,” the SAN said.
“Mr Sowore is entitled to express his opinion because there is freedom of expression in Nigeria. But what we should not do is to mistake our opinions and use them to replace facts and law because that would in itself be wrong.”
The Police Service Commission (PSC) had earlier directed all senior officers above 60 and those who have served more than 35 years to retire but Ogunleye said the agency has no power to retire the IGP.
Egbetokun was appointed as the IGP in June 2023 and was in October of that year confirmed by the National Police Council as the substantive police chief.
According to Section 7 of the Police Act 2020, anyone appointed as IGP shall stay in office for four years.
But Egbetokun who was born on September 4, 1964, was expected to retire last September when he clocked 60 in line with Section 18 (8) of the Police Act 2020 which takes the shape of the civil service rule that requires civil servants to retire after 35 years or when they are 60 years.