Retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Hashimu Argungu, the newly appointed Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), has officially taken charge at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
In his first major move, Argungu has launched an innovative programme aimed at enhancing staff knowledge and efficiency, dubbed “The Arena of Knowledge.”
This initiative, announced in a statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head of Press and Public Relations, aimed to enrich the staff’s understanding and skills pertinent to their daily responsibilities through a series of weekly lectures.
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During the inaugural session of “The Arena of Knowledge,” Chairman Argungu noted the importance of continuous knowledge sharing, stressing that no single person has a monopoly on knowledge.
In his presentation, titled “The Innocent Victim: Wrongful Garnishment Against Police Service Commission,” Argungu addressed ongoing garnishee proceedings against the Commission involving funds lodged with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for training purposes.
He outlined several objections to these proceedings, including issues of jurisdiction, improper service, and the lack of a valid judgement.
Argungu asserted that the PSC is an innocent victim of wrongful garnishment and urged the Commission’s legal department to collaborate with Police Legal Services to resolve these issues.
The Director of Legal Services,Babatunde Dada, also present at the lecture, while discussing the persistent problem of garnishee proceedings against the PSC, attributed the issues to the Commission’s inability to mobilise its lawyers effectively, leading to default judgments.
To address this, he said, the PSC legal department has partnered with private legal firms willing to handle cases pro bono.
Dada recommended inter-agency cooperation involving the Commission, the CBN, and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to develop strategies for debt resolution.
He also suggested implementing disciplinary measures against any police officers responsible for causing the garnishments, in line with Public Service Rule 030414, and adopting Alternative Dispute Resolution methods.
Furthermore, Dada proposed liaising with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to deploy newly qualified lawyers to the Commission’s legal department, enhancing its capacity to handle legal matters effectively.
The next session of “The Arena of Knowledge” is scheduled for July 27, 2024, focusing on the issue of leakages of classified documents and their consequences. Following this, a lecture addressing cybercrime since 2015 will be held a week later.
Argungu replaced former Solomon Arase, Inspector General of Police (retd), who was appointed to the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023.
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