Ex-IG Musiliu Smith resigns as PSC chair over ill-health

A former Inspector General of Police, Musiliu Smith, has resigned his appointment as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission.

Smith, who was in charge of the police during the President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration between May 1999 and March 2002, was said to have retired on health grounds.

The PSC, Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, who confirmed the resignation, said Smith had handed over to the next most senior commissioner in the PSC, a retired Supreme Court Justice, Clara Ogunbiyi, representing the Judiciary.

He added that Smith’s resignation was on health grounds and President Muhammadu Buhari had accepted it.

He further stated that an official statement from the commission would be issued on Thursday (today).

Smith, whose tenure is scheduled to end on July 2023, served the commission for over four years.

The former IG’s resignation came amid the long disagreement between the PSC and the Nigeria Police Force on recruitment.

Smith had been at loggerheads with the current IGP, Baba Usman, over the recruitment of constables into the Nigeria Police Force by the commission.

The current disagreement is over the 2022 police recruitment of 10,000 constables.

The commission in August placed adverts in national dallies and opened its portal for the recruitment of police constable for 2022.

But the Nigerian Police Force in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, had asked Nigerians to disregard the advertisement.

He said the recruitment had no connection with the Nigeria Police Force and was not in tandem with the police recruitment process.