Court Set Aside Judgement Declaring IGP Alkali Baba’s Appointment, Stay In Office Illegal

The Federal High Court sitting in Awka has set aside its earlier judgement on the alleged illegality of the continued stay in office of the inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba.

Naija News earlier reported that Justice Fatun Riman had declared that the appointment and stay in office of the IGP, Alkali Baba, is illegal.

The court also ordered Alkali Baba to stop parading himself as the Inspector-General of Police. The court ordered the President to convene a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council to appoint a new Inspector General of Police who will hold office for four years. ()

The court also declared that the 2nd Defendant (Alkali) is not qualified to hold the office of the Inspector General of Police for the sole reason that doing so will lead to absurdity which will amount to a complete breach and total disregard for the clear and unambiguous provision of Section 7 (6) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020.

Also granted by Justice Riman was a declaration that the President has no power, whatsoever, to extend the condition for retirement of a Police officer as contained in Section 18 (8) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020.

The court also noted that despite the prerogative power of the President, he is limited to the provisions of the Constitution, adding that the IGP retirement is a statutory and constitutional issue and no other law of the land can change the ground norm.

But in a fresh judgement on Friday, Justice Riman gave the order to set aside the the verdict delivered on 19th May, 2023.

This is following the application filed by the Inspector General of police through his counsel challenging the earlier verdict on the ground that he was not served, thus not heard in the suit which was his Constitutional right.

He argued that the suit was caught up by the principle of Res judicata having been adjudicated upon based on the same issues and facts being canvassed by the plaintiff.