Planned Demotion: Officers Get Court Order to Stop Police Service Commission

PSC Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith.

Segun Atanda/

Moves to demote police officers, considered undeserving of their new status, have been checkmated at a Federal High Court, in Abuja.

The Court gave an Injunction restraining the Police Service Commission (PSC) from demoting some elevated officers who had sacrificed a lot and saved the country from several embarrassing crime situations and were decorated with multiple IGP and Presidential medals for Courage, during the tenures of different IGPs spanning many years of outstanding performances.

According to Court papers, officers who challenged the planned demotion are Igbodo David, Abba Kyari, Abdulraman Mohammed, Abraham Godwin, Ahmed Monday, and Akadu Godwin.

DCP Abba Kyari

Their application was granted as prayed, and the Court granted them leave to sue for themselves and on behalf of all officers promoted between 2016 and 2018.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, recently cautioned the PSC and warned of a collision with Police authorities if the commission goes ahead with the planned demotion.

The PSC Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, recently dropped a hint in a statement that, henceforth, police officers would no longer be promoted to the next rank without the requisite training programmes and examinations.

“From now and henceforth, the conditions for promotion must be attendance, and passing the Senior Command Course for senior officers and other prescribed courses for others,” says Smith in the statement.

Smith stated that the Force, before now, had promoted officers severally without the officers attending the requisite training programmes attached to the ranks.

“Henceforth, the result of the performance of officers from appropriate training courses must be attached to the recommendation to the commission for promotion,” says Smith.

Some of the affected officers are members of DCP Abba Kyari’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

The team has been celebrated for arresting the notorious kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans, the killing of a bloody gang leader, Vampire, and the capture of some Boko-Haram terrorist, who abducted the Chibok school girls in Borno State.

Members of the team told NewsmakersNG that officers in IRT, TIU promoted as a result of gallantry and outstanding operations, also busted the kidnappers of the Ikorodu and Turkish School girls in Lagos and Ogun states; they arrested several kidnappers terrorizing Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway among others.

NewsmakersNG learnt that they were initially exempted from the demotion list compiled by the PSC, but were later added because someone made a case against their promotion which was based on superlative performance and gallantry, and followed all the due processes prescribed by the Laws of the land.

The Court Order secured by the officers

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