Following reports that the Senate does not have the power according to the constitution to invite the IGP, it has reacted.
Senate spokersperson, Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi
The Senate has said the constitution gives it power to invite the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris.
The Senate insisted it acted in accordance with the law and not out of personal reasons.
Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, stated this on Friday during his appearance on Channels Television’s breakfast programme Sunrise Daily.
“By virtue of the powers of the constitution, we have the powers to invite anybody on a subject that we make laws on,” he said.
“If you check the Constitution also, Section 215 where the Police Force is mentioned, you will see that the functions and how they are going to be organised is subjected to a provision that the National Assembly shall make a law to that effect.”
Sabi-Abdullahi’s comments came 24 hours after the Commissioner of Police (Legal), Force Headquarters, Mr. David Igbodo, said the police would challenge the Senate’s declaration on the IGP in court.
The Senate had declared the IGP an enemy of democracy and unfit to hold office on Wednesday after he failed to appear before the lawmakers three times, opting to send a representative.
The lawmakers had invited him to appear before them over the killings in parts of the country and the alleged maltreatment of one of their colleagues – Senator Dino Melaye.
Igbodo, however, defended his principal, on Thursday and accused the Senators of making the issue personal.
“Official functions of the IGP can be performed by the DIG or the Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs). So why are they insisting that it must be the IGP to appear in person?” Igbodo said during an appearance on Sunrise Daily.
But the Senate’s spokesman insisted that the decision of the IGP to delegate his deputy to appear before the Senate was wrong considering the high rate of killings across some states of the federation.
He added, “In a situation where we are having a crisis, the delegation here is the duty of the police officer in charge of preventing crime and ensuring peaceful law and order.
“What we are talking about here is something that is in the realm of policy, strategy in which the organisation ought to conduct its affairs.”
To the Senate, the IGP ought to have personally honoured the invitation and briefed the lawmakers on efforts being made to halt the killings and whatever obstacle the police were facing in stopping the killings.