Appeal Court Declares Police Act 2020 Illegal, Nullifies Constable Recruitment

<blockquote>The Court of Appeal has declared the Police Act 2020 unconstitutional and void.<br>The Police Act 2020 , which was enacted in September this year , affects the constitutional mandate of the Police Service Commission<br>The Appeal Court ruled that the provisions of the Act was in conflict with Paragraph 30 Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitutionwhich empowers the commission to appoint persons into offices in the Nigeria Police Force except the Office of the Inspector - General of Police . <br><br>The judgment also nullified the recruitment of 10 ,000 constables carried out by the police authorities last year .<br>However, the IG, Mohammed Adamu , has appealed the ruling which nullified the earlier order of the Federal High Court, Abuja .<br>The PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani , in a statement on Wednesday , explained that the details of the Appeal Court judgment was contained in the Certified True Copy received on Tuesday .<br><br>The statement was titled ,Appeal Court declares Police Act 2020 as it affects PSC mandate null and void. <br>The statement explained that the judge further declared thatno Act of the National Assembly or law can take away or curtail such power .<br>He further noted that, even if the Nigeria Police carried out the disputed enlistment pursuant to a directive or approval of the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) ,the enlistment would remain contrary to the constitution and therefore , unconstitutional and void . Such a directive cannot repair its unconstitutionality and illegality . <br><br>Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party GovernorsForum has called for a repeal of sections of the Police Act recently given assent by the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) , citing constitutional breaches .<br>This was contained in a communiqu issued after a virtual meeting held by the PDP governors.<br><br>The communiqu , which was made available to reporters in Abuja on Wednesday , was signed by the Chairman of the forum, Aminu Tambuwal , who is also the Governor of Sokoto State.<br>The governors , among other things , implored the President and the National Assembly to repeal Section 4 ( 1 ) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund ( Establishment ) Act , 2019 whichpurportedly authorises the President to deduct 0 . 5% of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the benefit of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund. <br>According to the governors, the said deduction is patently unconstitutional.<br>The communiqu read in part ,The meeting noted the signing of the New Nigeria Police Act , 2020 by Mr President , Commander in Chief .<br><br> While acknowledging the many important innovations in the new law , the forum emphasised the need to make the Nigeria Police Council , which has Mr . President as Chairman and 36 state governors as members , fully operational and the clearing house on all issues bordering on the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. <br></blockquote><a href="https://punchng.com/appeal-court-declares-police-act-2020-illegal-nullifies-constable-recruitment-2/">https://punchng.com/appeal-court-declares-police-act-2020-illegal-nullifies-constable-recruitment-2/</a>
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