Amending the constitution is a recipe for disaster, says Adetuyi

A former Commissioner for Police, Mr. Samuel Adetuyi (rtd) has urged the National Assembly to desist from altering the provisions of Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution as amended for the sustainability of the nation’s democracy.

Adetuyi stressed this while speaking with The Guardian in Akure yesterday, warning that such bid would not only be a “recipe for chaos, but also a lethal poison to true federalism in the Nigeria context.”

He dispelled the justification for the amendment, which he said was to satisfy the selfish interest of the governors, whom he emphasized, borne out of his experience in the course of service, to serve the whims and caprices of the state governors. He remarked that if the directives of the governors are within the purview of the Police Act, it is serious dereliction of duty for any police commissioner to ignore such order.

“Most times, what brings conflict is when the governor asks the commissioner to do something outside the Police Act,” he stated, referring to such excesses when he served as Commissioner for Police in Kogi State. “I told him that was not my duty. The governor didn’t like it and said I was romancing with the opposition party. A few days later, I was transferred to Yobe State, but I didn’t care.”

The ex-police officer turned lawyer who represented the police in the 2014 National CONFAB in Abuja, said the committee on security, only recommended that there should be decentralization of powers for police and not state police. Adetuyi advocated that instead of creating state police, the lawmakers should decentralize the police for better performance and make better legislation to address the poor conditions of police officers.