Former Inspector General of Police, Musiliu Smith, who is the Chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC) was said to have been advised by the board of the commission to tender his resignation. Smith, has accordingly resigned from his appointment.
The spokesperson of the commission, Ikechukwu Ani, confirmed the resignation of Mr Smith on Wednesday.
He has reportedly handed over to another member of the board, Clara Ogunbiyi, a retired Supreme Court justice, who represents the judiciary.
The embattled former chairman had, until his
resignation, been at loggerheads with workers of the commission and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.
They have had many disagreements in the past
over which body should be responsible for the recruitment, promotion, and
appointment of constables and officers.
Trouble started at the commission when the
recruitment of 10,000 constables into the Nigeria Police pitted the PSC against
the office of the erstwhile Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu,
in 2019.
The commission, which is saddled with the
responsibility of recruiting constables and taking disciplinary action against
erring police officers, felt the IGP was trying to usurp its powers.
As a result, a court process was initiated to
halt the ongoing recruitment exercise then.
Although the commission’s case was dismissed at the Federal High Court
in Abuja, the appellate court sitting in Abuja, on 30 September 2020, affirmed
the constitutional powers of the PSC to appoint persons to the Nigeria Police
Force.
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