President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) says the law permits the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to remain in office until 2023 or 2024. This follows in the counter affidavit to the suit filed at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by one lawyer, Maxwell Opara challenging the extension of the IGP Mohammed Adamu in office after he had reached the mandatory retirement of 60years, while Buhari extended his service.
The AGF said Opara has failed to discharge the legal burden proof that the second defendant is not a serving police officer for the purpose of extension of his tenure in office. The presiding judge, Ahmed Mohammed had yesterday ruled that the Nigerian Police Council (NPC) was not properly served with the originating process.
According to the judge, he observed there was no legal representation for the NPC, he noted that the service of the document was done on one Adeyemi, whose status was not stated on the originating process, and that has rendered the service improper.
Meanwhile, counsel to Opara, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, said the counsel to Buhari and Malami served him in the morning with the counter affidavit challenging the court jurisdiction to hear the matter, the court said service was fundamental to the proceeding.
March 30th 2021 has been fixed for the next hearing on the suit.
