The Police Service Commission, PSC, has directed a Commissioner of Police, CP Abdulkarim Dauda to immediately tender his letter of retirement and refund two years salaries for breach of illegal extension of tenure.
This decision was taken at the Commission’s 13th plenary meeting held in Abuja on Monday and Tuesday.
CP Dauda who was a one time Chief Security Officer (CSO) to former President Goodluck Jonathan and also worked briefly with President Muhammadu Buhari, was due for retirement from the Force after attaining the mandatory 35 years in service but refused.
He is to refund salaries thatbhe collected from January 2020 to date.
Commissioner in charge Media and Publicity in the Board of the PSC, Mr. Austin Briamoh who made this known at a briefing after the plenary, said CP Dauda claimed that he was given extension of service during the tenure of former IGP Mohammed Adamu to year 2021.
However, Mr. Briamoh disclosed that all records showed document where President Muhammadu Buhari or former IGP Adamu approved the extension of his service.
According to Braimoh, it was when the former CP demanded that he be promoted to the next rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police, that the issue of retirement was discovered.
“So the board of the PSC haven discovered several infraction on the issue of extension for CP Abdulkarim Dauda without due process, rejected the extension and backdated his retirement to 1st of January 2020 when he was actually due for retirement.
“We have no record that his tenure was extended by Mr. President. So quietly, we have asked for him to go. He is to retire and return the salaries he collected from January 2020 till date. We even tempered justice with mercy because when he was to retire, he was given extension.
“It was a violation of the Police act and statutes. On top of that he is appealing that he should be promoted upwards when he is on illegal extension,” Braimoh said.
Asked why it took the commission this long to act on the illegal extension while the officer was collecting salaries and superintending over others, Braimoh said, “The PSC is a constitutional body. We follow due process and ensure that the law is applied justiceably and obeyed. As you can see, we even tempered justice with mercy.”
He emphasized that the retirement of CP Dauda is with immediate effect.
