There was yet another show of shame at the National Assembly yesterday as two senators engaged in open quarrel over the demotion former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, from the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, and Senator Ayogu Eze washed their dirty linens in public at the meeting between the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector General of Police.
Senator Tanko Ayuba had commended the Chairman and members of the PSC over the demotion of 140 officers by the commission, stressing that the demotion violated the commission�s Act and was capable of creating indiscipline within the Police Force.
Ayuba had also said, “What the Police Service Commission did was the best, not minding who and who were involved. The truth of the matter is that due process was not followed and you can imagine a situation where a police officer would be promoted ahead of over 2,000 of his colleagues and same person becomes the Inspector General of Police, what that means is that he would retire the over 2,000 officers for him to be comfortable, and that would be very dangerous for the country.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Gbenga Oguniya, requested to know whether Ribadu would also be withdrawn from the NIPSS, Kuru, where he is presently attending a course, even after his demotion.
Senator Oguniya expressed concern that taxpayers� money used in sending Ribadu to NIPSS would be wasted if he is re-called. In an addendum to the concern raised by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Information, Senator Ayogu Eze, also insisted on knowing what would happen to Ribadu�s course.
Soon after the submissions of Senators Ayuba, Oguniya and Eze, the Senate Committee on Security and National Intelligence, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, cautioned that the matter be not taken personal but be centred on Ribadu.
Trouble started, tempers were let loose and decorum was thrown to the wind when Eze interrupted his colleague Senator Aliyu who had the floor, in a most unsenatorial manner.
According to Aliyu, “I was once in the force and I retired as a Assistant Inspector General of Police. This matter is very topical , but let us not be personal. Let us not be sentimental about this matter”.
But Eze, who came late to the meeting, interjected, firing the first salvo thus: “will not take this from you! What is personal about what we are doing? No, no, no I asked a question from the Chairman of the Police Service Commission and not to you, “What are you talking about?
Aliyu replied, “You are being personal and I cannot be a party to this”.Eze: You can get out! If you are a retired AIG, this is Senate, you can get out!
A visibly angered tall- framed Aliyu stood from his seat, apparently to combat Eze, repeatedly asking, “are you saying I should get out of this meeting? Are you driving me out?”.
At that point, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Oguniya, moved in to stop the public show of shame.
Meanwhile, the PSS yesterday sealed all hope on the possibility of any reversal of the demotion of the former EFCC chairman, stressing that Ribadu’s promotion above his colleagues could have as well been reversed even if it was done by the president.
The commission also announced that the former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, masterminded what he described as, “illegality, unconstitutionality and flagrant abuse of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as well as the Act establishing the commission, because he had no such powers to carry out those promotions.”
Appearing before the Senate panel on Police Affairs on the demotion of the officers, Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osanyade, told the committee, “The commission is a direct product of the 1999 constitution which is supreme.
“Section 29 in its third schedule of the Police Service Commission gives the commision the responsibility to carry out promotions of police officers up to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police and it is clear that the former IGP gave out what he did not have power to give.
“We are not here to moralise. This is a constitutional matter, and the law does not follow the path of sentiments and every beneficiary of illegal system must surrender what he has benefited.”
“We discovered that former IGP Ehindero promoted some people above 2,000 other officers and that we said is unconstitutional because the promotion of officers must be based on seniority and even if it were the President that did it we would have reversed it because the President has no such powers.”
The chairman of the commission also cleared the air, stressing that the demotion was not targeted at Ribadu, adding that the demotion of late Haz Iwendi would be revisited by the commision.
Also speaking, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo, who represented the IGP, Mike Okiro said, “The tenet of democracy includes justice, accountability and transparency, but what we have today is a lot of inconsistencies. There is no due process. The standard has fallen, because a police officer should not remain on one rank for more than three years.”