By Efe Onodjae
A civil society group in Lagos, Our Mandate Initiative, has uncovered a 36-year-old police signal sent to the Commissioner, Police Academy, Kaduna State, revealing that cadet officers who accept the offer of Cadet ASP/ASP were assumed to have resigned their former appointment as recruits.
It also indicated that such officers had no advantage over direct entrants.
The group has, therefore, called for an end to the long-standing crisis between the Police, Police Service Commission, PSC, and police cadet officers from courses 18, 19, and 20.
According to the group’s president, Lookman Ashiru, revelations from 1989 had made it clear that the issue needed to be resolved promptly.
The signal, with reference number AH 7970/PB/58 DTO 221535/05/89, according to the group, was sent to the Commissioner of Police, Police Academy, Kaduna, and has had far-reaching implications for cadet force entrants.
The statement read: “In the year 1989, police originated a wireless massage ref. No AH 7970/PB/58 DTO 221535/05/89 entitled: payment of lodging allowance sent to Commissioner of Police, Police Academy, Kaduna. In that signal, Police made it clear that once you accept the offer of cadet ASP/ INSP, it is assumed that you have resigned your former appointment as a recruit and you have no advantage over and above the direct entrance. Subsequent to this signal, the force entrants were denied their lodging allowance.
“Their salaries stopped and their identity cards as police officers were retrieved from them. They were paid only stipends equal to that of direct entrance. They commenced training the same date and passed out the same date. On commencement of training, they were all issued with letters of appointment not promotion. The signal had effect on all cadet force entrants till date.
“Then in the 2015, police authority started to retire some members of course 18 /1994 and course 19/1996. Some of them wrote petition to the PSC. The commission looked intotheir petition, retained some.”
This prompted so many complaints and petitions to the PSC. The commission in its 24th plenary meeting on regularization of date of first appointment held on September 27 and 28, 2017, stated that the officer’s are to maintain their date of appointment as cadet ASP as their first date of appointment into the force. This decision the police refused to implement.
“Some of the members of course 18 and 19 cadet ASP proceeded to the National Industrial Court of for justice to prevail. In the year 2021, that is after 5-years of legal battle, the court gave judgment in favor of the ASPs courses 18,19 and 20 cadet ASPs force entrants, that their date of first appointment into the police force was the date contained in their various letters of appointment for course 18. It was dated 10/06/1994, course 19 is 15/08/1996 and course 20 is 01/05/2000.
“Police authority under the leadership of former IGP implemented the court judgment. In their documentation, their cadet Inspector’s counterparts went to document along with them. The then Deputy Force Secretary, CP Abàniwonder did not allow the inspectors to document. He told them to go to court, that the court did not mention cadet Inspectors. Based on his instructions cum advice, the cadet inspectors force entrance courses 33/1994, 34/1996 and 35/2000 approached the National Industrial Court in the year 2021.
“Let it be made clear here that there is no other reason in taking the unholy decision of the PSC other than to favor their children and punish the children of Mr. Nobody. In 2010, police ran a programme where they trained only professionals with the pretense of running it like the Nigerian Army. The training was for one year, at the Police College, Ikeja. After three years of graduation from the police College, Ikeja, they were all converted to General duty police officers which they were not trained to do.”
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