The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has filed new 20 grounds of appeal against the September 30, 2020 judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which overturned the recruitment of 10,000 constables carried out by him and the Nigeria Police Force last year.

The fresh notice of appeal filed at the Supreme Court on Thursday incorporates the earlier one containing only three grounds of appeal filed earlier filed by the IG along with the NPF and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, on October 2.

The appellants, had through their lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), filed along with their original notice of appeal an application urging the Supreme Court to order the stay of execution of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Olabisi Ige had in the contested judgment unanimously held that the IG and the NPF lacked the power to recruit the constables.

It had held that the power to carry out the recruitment was exclusively that of the Police Service Commission.

The appeal court not only set aside the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, Abjua, which had validated the IG’s power of recruitment, it also nullified the actual recruitment of the 10,000 constables carried out by the IG.

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But in their new notice of appeal with 20 grounds filed on Thursday, the appellants’ lawyer argued among others, that the power of the NPF and the IG to enlist the recruit constables was distinct from the power of the PSC to appoint them.

He faulted the Court of Appeal’s decision that the Nigeria Police Regulations 1968 conferring the power of “enlistment of recruit constables” conferred on the NPF was inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution.

But the senior lawyer maintained that section 71 of the Police Regulation, 1968 was not synonymous with the power of “appointment” used in the Nigerian Constitution or the Police Service Commission (Establishment) Act.

“The power to enlist recruit constables conferred on the 1st appellant (NPF) is distinct and is not the same function conferred on the 1st respondent (PSC),” Izinyon argued.

He added that the procedure for enlistment of recruit constables  was specifically  provided in section 76 – 106 of the Nigeria Police Regulations, adding that the PSC “is not conferred with absolute power or any power howsoever described to enlist recruit constables  into the 1st appellant (NPF)”.