The Senate has said the constitution gives it power to invite the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, following reports that it doesn’t.
The Senate also 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.
Sabi-Abdullahi’s comments is coming 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.
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.
He said, “By virtue of the powers of the constitution, we have the powers to invite anybody on a subject that we make laws on,”.
“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.”
“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.”
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