Court of Appeal declares Police Act 2020 void and nullifies constable recruitment.
The Court of Appeal on Wednesday, 14th October 2020, has declared void and unconstitutional the Police Act 2020 on the basis that it affects the constitutional mandate of the Police Service Commission.
According to the Court, the provision of the Act is in conflict with paragraph 30 Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution “which empowers the commission to appoint persons into offices in the Nigeria Police Force except the Office of the Inspector-General of Police.”
The Court also nullified the recruitment of 10,000 constables carried out by the police authorities in the previous year.
In so doing, the Court explained that by Section 1 subsection 3 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Police Act is void as it purported to go contrary to the express provision of the Constitution.
According to the judgment, no Act of the National Assembly or law can take away or curtail the power under the Constitution and the recruitment is void even if it obtained Presidential approval.
