Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has condemned the continued stay in office of Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, describing it as illegal and unconstitutional.
Farotimi voiced his concerns during an interview on News Central TV on Saturday, where he supported the stance of former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore. Sowore has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Egbetokun’s extended tenure, insisting that the IGP should have retired.
“Nigeria is a legal entity full of lies and contradictions, and laws rarely matter in the country that we have built. If laws matter, the reality is that Yele is completely correct. The Inspector General of Police is illegal, he has exceeded his term in office, but what the Presidency is telling you is that the law does not matter,” Farotimi said.
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Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, was recently detained by the police after he accused Egbetokun of holding office illegally. The police charged him under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
His charges stemmed from a post he made on X (formerly Twitter), where he shared Egbetokun’s photo and called him the “illegal IG of the Nigeria Police Force.”
He also criticized the government, writing: “Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption, a country run by characterless people cannot make progress.”
After his arrest, Sowore was granted administrative bail but rejected the conditions, which required him to provide a civil servant of a specific rank as surety. The police then filed a 16-count charge against him.
During a court hearing on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman granted Sowore bail at N10 million, requiring him to provide a surety and surrender his passport to the court registrar.
Farotimi strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu’s government for allegedly disregarding the law by allowing Egbetokun to remain in office.
“The President has ‘decreed,’ and it has been ‘decreed,’ because if it is not ‘decreed,’ then it will be in accordance with the law. And what the law says is that Kayode Egbetokun should retire,” he said.
When asked if the presidency had issued any formal decree, Farotimi stood by his argument.
“It is the effect of what he has said that I’m talking about. If the president’s word is superior to the clear wording of the law, the existential reality is that he has decreed something outside of the law. And it is because he is the imperator. It does not change the fact that what he has said supersedes the law.” he explained.
Farotimi also pointed out that the Police Service Commission (PSC) had not denied that Egbetokun should have retired, further fueling concerns about the government’s alleged disregard for the rule of law.
The debate over Egbetokun’s continued stay in office has sparked widespread reactions, with critics accusing the government of manipulating legal provisions to serve its interests.
Sowore and Farotimi’s stance has intensified discussions about the rule of law, governance, and human rights in Nigeria. Many opposition figures and activists believe that the government is using security agencies to silence critics and suppress dissent.