President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the extension of service of his Chief Personal Security Officer, Abdulkarim Dauda, by three years.
Dauda, who was promoted to the rank of Commissioner of Police last year, is Buhari’s nephew.
By the presidential approval, the CPSO, who was due to retire from service on January 1, 2020, will now leave the force on May 13, 2023.
Born in 1963, Dauda was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Officer on January 1, 1985 and would clock the mandatory 35 years in service in January 2020.
Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, in a signal conveying Dauda’s tenure extension directed the force’s Department of Information Technology to amend their records to reflect the development.
The message with reference number 23853/FS/FHQ/ABJ/46 seen by our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday, read, “The President, Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chairman, Police Council, has graciously approved the extension of service of CP Abdulkarim Dauda to May 13, 2023, when he would have attained 60 years of age. Commissioner, Information Technology, amend your records please.”
Prior to his posting to the State House as CPSO to the President, Dauda served in different police commands and formations, including the Sokoto State Command, Force Criminal Department, Lagos, Katsina State Command, Lagos State Command, Edo State Command, Police College, Kaduna, and Kano State Command.
The CPSO office was created by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to pave the way for his aide-de-camp, Moses Jitoboh, to be part of his personal security structure.
But a few months after Buhari’s inauguration, his nephew was redeployed to serve as his CPSO.
It was learnt that Daudu subsequently removed Daura from his name to allegedly prevent the public from tracing his family connection to the President following criticisms over Buhari’s appointing his family and kinsmen to government offices.
Our correspondent learnt that the decision to extend Daura’s stay in the force had been generating tension in the Police Service Commission, as senior officials regard Buhari’s action as a usurpation of the PSC’s powers and a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
A PSC official claimed the CPSO was being groomed to succeed the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, in 2021.
He stated, “The plan is to promote the CPSO to the rank of AIG and then make him the IG in 2021 when Adamu retires from service. We believe the President was misled into extending Dauda’s tenure because he had no power to do so.”
In a related development, our correspondent learnt that the tenure of embattled DIG in charge of Training and Development, Yakubu Jubrin, has been extended by two weeks.
Jubrin clocked the mandatory retirement age on October 1, but The PUNCH learnt that his tenure had been extended to October 15.
Jubrin, who was queried for misconduct by the PSC, had approached the National Industrial Court seeking an order restraining the commission from sacking or demoting him.
The plaintiff in suit no. NICN/ABJ/294/2019, also sought a declaration of the court that the PSC could subject him to further disciplinary measures or dismissal.
The originating summons filed by his lawyer, Alex Izinyon (SAN), was supported by an affidavit deposed to by ACP Batagarawa Buhari, who stated that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had informed the police that they had the mandate to handle the recruitment of 10,000 constables as directed by Buhari.
The commission last month queried the DIG for allegedly masterminding the disagreement between the PSC and the police by releasing the names of successful candidates and inviting them for medical screening without it’s permission.
The PSC also accused the DIG of making disparaging remarks against the commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, and a member of the board in charge of recruitment, Austin Braimoh.
Punch