The House of Representatives yesterday told President Muhammadu Buhari to replace Inspector General Ibrahim Idris with a more professional officer.
The lawmakers alleged that the IGP, due to his utterances, actions and inactions, could no longer be trusted to conduct his job in a professional manner.
Two motions of urgent national importance presented by two members of the House of Representatives culminated in the vote of no confidence on the number one cop.
The first was by Mark Gbillah (APC Benue) titled: โMotion in the derogatory statement by the Police PRO against an executive Governor of a state and the seeming unwillingness of the Inspector General of Police to recognise and enforce a constitutionally enacted law by an executive arm of governmentโ.
The second motion was by Abubakar Dannuram titled: โMotion on need to curb thuggery development in political activities in Kano and Nigeria in generalโ.
Gbillahโs motion chronicled the inaction of the police boss in the wake of the killing of 73 indigenes of Benue State and his utterance before a Senate committee that the Open Grazing Prohibition Law by the Benue State House of Assembly was responsible for the killings by Fulani herdsmen and that the state government should scrap the law.
The motion also spoke of the alleged derogatory statement made by the Police Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, who called the Benue State governor โa drowning manโ on television.
The lawmaker called on the House to call on the IGP to apologise to the Benue State Governor over the derogatory statement of the Force PRO and relieve him of his duties immediately.
Gbillah urged the House to mandate the relevant committee to investigate the alleged statements made by the IG and the implications to his ability to superintend the resolution of the killings in Benue and other parts of the country, if found to be true.
But Danburamโs motion, which alleged that the police and other security agencies have turned blind eyes to illegal acts of terror being perpetuated in Kano and other parts of Nigeria, was the turning-point in yesterdayโs critical resolution of the House.
His own prayers were to the House to invite the IG and Commissioner of Police in Kano State to give account for what happened and directs them both to provide measure against thuggery in the state.
But this quickly changed when John Dyegh (APC Benue) moved an amendment that it was evident from the slant of arguments, discussions and presentation on the floor that members have lost confidence in the Inspector-General.
This, he said, should be one of the prayers of Danburamโs motion.
The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, thereafter asked the members if that was what they wanted and all members on the floor responded in the affirmative.
He subsequently put this to a vote and the House overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence in the Inspector-General.
But Johnson Agbonayinma (APC, Edo), Abdullahi Mahmud Gaya (APC, Kano), Muhammad Sani Abdul (APC, Bauchi), Ayuba Bello (APC, Borno), Abubakar Chika Adamu (APC, Niger) and Basir Babale (APC, Kano) later disagreed with their colleagues.
They said the decision of the House did not follow due process.
The lawmakers promised to move for the rescission of the resolution, adding that most members played to the gallery at the resolution, thereby denying the IGP a fair hearing.
At a news briefing, the six lawmakers said their position against the resolution of the House will be presented to the House in form of a motion.
Agbonayinma, who spoke on behalf of the others said, โThe motion on Kano did not go down well with some of us. The Speaker has always guided the House and tried his best, but all of us played to the gallery. We should be fair to all.
โOn the issue that IGP should be replaced, I think we were too in a rush, the motion should have been referred to a committee.โ
โEvery Nigerian has a right to fair hearing. The issue should have been investigated. Not only me but some of our colleagues were not too happy with the resolution.
โSome of us are going forward to rescind the decision. We were not fair to the IGP.โ
