Ribadu to graduate from NIPSS, Kuru
Abuja - The controversy over the fate of ex-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) may have been laid to rest.
It has now been gathered that Ribadu will now be allowed to complete his Senior Officers’ Course at the Institute even though he is no longer qualified for the course following his demotion from the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) by the Police Service Commission.
Ribadu had been sidelined from the EFCC in controversial circumstances and ordered to proceed to NIPSS following a presidential approval of the recommendation by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro, who said Ribadu was promoted to AIG without undergoing the mandatory course.
Following the demotion of Ribadu and 139 other police officers, controversy had erupted over his stay at the institute, but no one had taken responsibility for recalling him.
The authorities of the institute had said they had never been faced with the kind of situation they called “qualification saga” where a candidate would be qualified at the start of the programme but would be unqualified midway, advising that the police who sent him on the course in the first instance should recall him.
But Okiro said the PSC, which demoted Ribadu should recall him from the course. But the chairman of the commission, Parry Osayande, pushed the buck to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the chairman of NIPSS. The course, which started in February 2008, is expected to end next month.
A Presidency source asserted that Jonathan would not recall Ribadu from NIPSS. “As I’m talking to you, Ribadu has already finished the course work and is working on his project, so the VP will not recall him,” the source said. “The tradition is that even if an officer is retired while he is on course, he will be allowed to finish his course.”
It is believed that those who want Ribadu to complete the course are of the opinion that the demotion is enough punishment for him and withdrawing him from NIPSS could generate further negative reactions.
Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, had, in an article, made a case for Ribadu to complete his course.
He wrote: “With profound respect, the position of the police authorities on the studentship of Mr Ribadu is in irreconcilable conflict with the provisions of the NIPSS Act. Even though the Vice-President has not reacted to the buck-passing on the fate of the embattled former EFCC helmsman it is pertinent to assert, without any fear of contradiction, that the office of the Vice President has no powers to recall, rusticate, or dismiss any student from NIPSS.
“Like the Police Service Commission which was not in place for over one year the Board of the NIPSS has not been constituted for quite sometime, which is a reflection of the failure of governance in the country. It ought to be made abundantly clear that there is no provision in the NIPSS Act which empowers the Vice-President to exercise the powers of the Board in its absence.”
“Even if the Board had been properly constituted it would have lacked the power to recall or expel Mr Ribadu from the Institute. In other words neither the Board nor its Chairman has the power to interfere, in any manner whatsoever, with the academic program of any student.
Since Mr. Ribadu met the legal entry requirement of the Institute and has neither been found academically unsuitable nor guilty of misconduct his studies cannot be terminated by the Vice-President. More so, that he was recommended for the program by the police authorities who authorized the payment of the full costs of the program.
“Contrary to the position of the police authorities it is the Director-General and Chief Executive of the Institute who has been conferred with the powers to manage ‘the affairs of the Institute’. This, in effect, means that it is the management of NIPSS that can terminate the studies of a student who may have been found wanting. In line with the rule of law and due process it has been established that no student of any educational institution in Nigeria can have his/her studies terminated when he/she has not been found guilty of misconduct.”
He also cited many settled cases in law to argue his case. “In the case of Yussuf Garba v. University of Maiduguri (1986) 2 NWLR (PT 18) 559 the Supreme Court set aside the expulsion of some undergraduates on the ground that they were not given the right of fair hearing before they were expelled by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Jibril Aminu. See also Esiaga v University of Calabar (2004) 21 WRN 28.
“Another issue which has been conveniently glossed over is that the legitimate right of Mr Ribadu to the studentship of NIPSS had been acquired before the decision of the Police Service Commission to demote him was taken. It is trite in law that the rights of parties are to be decided according to the law when the action was commenced. Thus, in Afolabi v Governor of Oyo State (1985)2 NWLR (Pt 9)734 it was held by the Supreme Court that a law should not be interpreted to extinguish an accrued right or interest of any party. The police authorities should therefore let sleeping dogs lie in the circumstances.”
He said the exposition of the “prevailing legal position on the recall of Kuru students was dealt with in extenso by the Acting Director-General of the Institute, Dr Yakubu Sankey, in a somewhat courageous interview… Dr. Sankey put paid to the unwarranted controversy surrounding Mr. Ribadu’s fate at Kuru. While quoting profusely from the Rules and Regulations of the Institute, Dr. Sankey categorically stated that once admitted, a student of the Institute can only be recalled on grounds of misconduct, ill health or inability to cope with the academic program.
“On the implication of the demotion of Mr. Ribadu on the course, Dr. Sankey stated that I have had cause to tell people that the cut-off point for federal civil servants are directors. But we had to accept Deputy Directors. So the cut-off point is just one criterion among others. … he is Deputy Commissioner of Police, logically, therefore, if you condone a Deputy Director in the civil service why won’t you condone a Deputy Commissioner of Police from the Police Force?”
Falana asked the Federal Government to halt further hostilities against Ribadu and allow him “to concentrate on his studies at Kuru”.
Source: ThisDay
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