Ibrahim Abdullahi
When Amnesty International Brought out What It Called ‘’Boody August’’ Relating it to the taken of actions of men of the Nigerian police, we saw the outcome of the police debunking it. We strenuously went further in putting the record straight. It went further and threatened legal action against the organization saying every one of its findings was unfounded and that such a statement is capable of derailing the public from the Truth of what transpired between the police and protesters
Whether it is true or not, the most important stint here is that the Nigeria Police had given their side of the story and identified areas of its constitutional reasonability to which they had discharged meaningfully according to them.
But what is most significant in life is ensuring that, in every conflicting issue, the need to set the record straight remains most important, if for anything, the integrity and perception of such organization remains very paramount in the annals of things to come, how is being viewed and what the people perceived to be the truth, essentially when the truth becomes a bitter Pill to swallow and because of that, many are wanting to become economical with it, while others feel it is something one should be able to swallow either good or bad!
The First Entry Point here is in the fact that these officers were enlisted after following every due process of what is required as prerequisites of becoming an officer.
But what the contention that many Nigerians did not know, is whether the counting of their year of entry should be used as the basis for the background of their enlistment, or their year of Commission which eventually ended in industrial court, where Justice Oyewumi Presided, and after all deliberation, the court in suit Nos- NCIN/ABJ/ 345/ 2019 & NCIN/ABJ/ 353/2019 Delivered it judgement on January 13th, 2021, and was said to have ruled in favour of the year of commission as cadet officers.
Whether or not the present police service commission is in arm with this information remains, it is most telling that the commission in its letter dated 22nd of June, 2020, had directed the Police Authority then to implement the decision of the Court, even went further that the 197 affected officers involved be allowed to update their documents, only for them to be told their action was termed ‘Falsification’. Unknown to many, the court verdict had interpreted in its wisdom, that all identifiable areas remained in favour of all affected officers, but what is most curious is its implementation between then and now.
The fact that the said officers were enlisted as non-commissioned officers NCOs) and later acquired higher university degrees should not be a determinant to humiliating them with all that has been resolved by the industrial court, these are officers with requisites experience both in their other ranks and then being an officer of the law, even their counterparts, before enlistments, some had already gained employments in other parastatals, like a known fact of the Profile of the Present Inspector General of Police, IGP, Egbetokun who was said to have been in enlisted as lecturer in Yaba college of technology before his recruitments into the academy
Part of what Most Nigerians believed should have cemented every of this Development was a letter from the police service commission in its 24 Plenary Decision in letter with reference number PSC/154/111/257 dated 25th of October 2017 to the then inspector general of Police to implement, in tandem with the 1999 reference signal number CE-2710/PS/VOL 3/205, dated 1st of June 1999 that None commission officers, before taking up a fresh appointments as Cadet ASP Must resign their Earlier appointment and start afresh as the date of their first appointment
On the Part of the Police leadership in the past, in signal number CB 3594/FSABJ/VOL2/244 DTO291225/07/2021 Implemented the judgement of the court and the Police Service Commission was Communicated on 30th April 2021, what is in question is whether the Present Police Service Commission is in the know of these development, but what is instructive was that the past leadership of the commission took the judgement to court of Appeal for interpretation, again the learned judges upheld the industrial court’s decision even went ahead to find the commission a one Million Naira for what it termed abuse of court process.
This was how the Police Leadership and the commission agreed on the judgement and recalled some officers who may have been retired with regards to the said regularization of the date of Entry Exercise of the Service commission back to their offices upon the Decision of the Police Service Commission of the 24th Plenary meeting indicating affirmation of date of First appointment from the police Academy As Explained Thus: The Commission wishes to Refer to your letter PSC/1524/111/275 dated October, 25th 2017.
The overriding of new turn has called for worries about the way the pendulum has started swinging justifying why Nigerians know the significance of court judgment and justice. When it was Amnesty International, we saw the spontaneous reaction of the police leadership and justice was served even with heavy words of extending the matter to the court for adjudication. The 197 officers had gotten justice and not judgment, therefore, the leadership of the Nigerian police should let Nigerians know why it has ignored every of this said justice and decided to be mute allowing some of us to believe there’s the choice of selecting judgment because of the avoidance of justice.
The perception of what Amnesty International alleged and the quick reaction of the police can be used in this context, to avoid dragging the image of the police to the mood. Therefore, placing these issues in proper perspective remains, and equally ensuring that justice is done on this matter will further sustain the image of the police. Enough said. Let justice prevail
Abdullahi Wrote Via Adamu.ibrahim@gmail.com
