True to speculations which had been making the rounds for some time now, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has been demoted from the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
The demotion is coming about eight months after he was sent on a course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and quietly removed as EFCC boss.
His new position is three ranks below the AIG rank with which he enlisted at NIPSS.
The demotion was announced yesterday by the newly constituted Police Service Commission (PSC), which deliberated on the issue and that of 139 other officers whose promotions were said to not have conformed to due process.
Among the affected officers was former Force Public Relations Officer and former Commissioner of Police (CP), Kaduna Command, Haz Iwendi, who passed on last June who now posthumously wears the rank of DCP like Ribadu.
The implication of late Iwendi�s post-humous demotion is that his family will only get his entitlements based on the new rank.
The details of the demotion of the 140 officers were contained in a press release issued by the Chairman of PSC, retired Deputy Inspector General, Parry Osayande.
The statement described the promotion of the affected officers as ��improper�� and therefore, asked them to revert to their proper ranks.
Following the breakdown, one AIG (Ribadu), six CPs, nine DCPs, eight ACPs, 11 CSPs, 13 SPs, 29 DSPs and 63 ASPs had their promotions reversed.
The remaining CPs demoted were Olayinka Balogun, Adebayo Ajileye, Columbus O.Okaro, Solomon E. Arase and Amodu Ali.
The commission described the irregular promotion of the listed officers as ��disturbing�� as it was done without recourse to the PSC, which is statutorily responsible for the promotion of senior police officers.
Osayande said: �In order to restore the broken-down disciplinary mechanism, which sustained the police over the years, the commission has decided to cancel the promotion of 140 officers whose promotion breached the established criteria.
�Accordingly, all the affected should revert to their former ranks with immediate effect. Thereafter, all those who qualified and meet the established criteria will be considered for promotion on merit subject to available vacancies and recommendation of the Inspector-General of Police��
It said the promotion was a total breach of Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution and the PSC Act 2001.
Osayande said this had caused disillusionment, agitations and indiscipline within the police force.
The commission explained that in line with its mandate to appoint, promote and discipline all police officers except the Inspector General, it frowned on the promotion of the affected officers, which according to it, violated the guidelines for normal promotion.
Osayande listed seniority, a minimum of three years on a rank, good Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) grading over a period of three years, availability of vacancy and passing of an oral interview among others as some of the yardsticks for normal promotion.
However, he said officers could be specially promoted on grounds of exceptional performance such as acts of gallantry and bravery.
��The commission observed that because the mechanism for the transparent performance of the statutory duties of the PSC and Inspector-General of Police appeared to have broken down totally at the time. Issues of appointment, promotion, discipline and appeals were unduly influenced from outside and within the force,� he said.
The PSC restated its commitment to re-positioning the police and upholding the rule of law and charged officers to demonstrate the virtues of honesty, hard work, discipline and diligence which will ultimately lead to advancement based on merit.
Until his appointment as EFCC boss, Ribadu was an ACP but due to his achievements on the saddle, he was promoted four times between 2003 and 2007.
The circular asking Ribadu to proceed on course at Kuru near Jos was issued on December 27, 2007, sparking off a huge controversy as to the propriety of the police sending the EFCC boss on course following the provision of EFCC Act.
Only last week, when his NIPSS Study Group 1 Course 30 went to Sierra Leone, it was only Ribadu�s luggage that was missing and till date Bellview Airline has not procured it.
But there were speculations last night that the police and State Security Service (SSS) stormed Kuru in a bid to arrest Ribadu. The reason for the rumoured arrest was, however, unknown.
SSS officials could not be reached last night as calls put through to their mobile phones were unanswered. The police had earlier picked up Ibrahim Magu, a Chief Superintendent of Police, who under Ribadu was head of Economic Governance Unit of EFCC that conducted the investigations that nailed some ex-governors in the country.
His arrest was said to be as a result of some �vital documents� of EFCC said to be in his custody.
Ribadu�s demotion has, however, raised some puzzles.
One source within the Police High Command wondered why a PSC which was not on ground when Ribadu was promoted to his present rank would wake up suddenly to demote him.
�It smacks of victimisation or attempt to bring down Ribadu at all cost,� he said.
There is also the question of what becomes of the NIPPS course that the former EFCC boss will finish in November.
The NIPPS course is meant for police officers from CP level and above and Ribadu was AIG when he enlisted.
The source said: �I don�t want to be dragged into any controversy. But I can tell you categorically that though the process with which Ribadu got his promotions may be faulty. He was promoted from the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to AIG in a spate of less than five years. But notwithstanding that, the PSC did not do a perfect job at all. They should know that a DCP is not supposed to attend NIPPS and in three months� time, November, to be precise, the man will graduate from NIPPS. So, what becomes of his course?�.
Aug62008