Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted the appointment of former Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) as chairmen of the Police Service Commission (PSC).
In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed ex-IGP Musiliu Smith as chairman of the PSC. Four years after, he resigned in 2022 and retired Justice Clara Ogunbiyi took over as acting chairman.
In January 2023, the senate confirmed Solomon Arase, retired inspector-general of police (IGP), as substantive chair of the PSC a year after smith resigned.
Obasanjo on Wednesday said that civilians should be appointed as chair of PSC while police officers should be appointed as members of the commission. He stated this while speaking at the public presentation of a book titled ‘Policing the Nigeria Police’, authored by Simon Okeke, a former chairperson of the PSC,
“I believe it must be a civilian, not a retired police officer. A retired police officer should be a member of the commission but not the head,” Obasanjo stated.
“When you make a retired police officer the head of the Police Service Commission, it is like asking a thief to catch a thief.”
Obasanjo said that the Nigeria Police must be allowed to be thoroughly monitored and supervised as stated in the PSC Act and the PSC must be allowed to do their normal oversight functions.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
