The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday fixed April 16 for judgment in the suit seeking the challenging the extension of the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu

The judge, Ahmed Mohammed, fixed the date after parties to the case adopted their written addresses.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, and the counsel for Mr Adamu, Alex Izinyon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the court on Tuesday that they were ready for the hearing of the suit having successfully served the 4th defendant with their processes.

Adopting his addresses, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr Ezekiel, said ”We rely on all the affidavits and exhibits attached and urge the court to grant the reliefs and answer the questions in favour of the plaintiff.”

Similarly, Mr Izinyon urged the court to uphold the preliminary objection of his client in response to the plaintiff’s written address and dismiss the suit.

Mr Adamu, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), through their lawyers, argued that the IGP could remain in office till either 2023 or 2024.

A lawyer, Maxwell Okpara, filed the suit following the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of Mr Adamu as Inspector-General of Police by three months after his retirement on February 1.

Mr Okpara’s contention was that by virtue of Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 7 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, Mr Adamu could not continue to function as the IGP, having retired as a serving member of the force.

Mr Opara sought among others in his suit, an order directing Mr Adamu to stop functioning as the IGP.

He asked the court to hold that the failure of Mr Buhari and the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) to name a new IGP on February 1 when Mr Adamu retired from police force amounted to abdication of duty.

He therefore urged the court to compel President Buhari and the NPC to immediately appoint a new IGP.

The plaintiffs sued the President, Mr Adamu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the NPC as the defendants.