The new leadership of the Police Service Commission (PSC) has taken office at its Corporate Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, with a commitment to enhance staff knowledge through a program called “The Arena of Knowledge.”
The new Board, appointed by the President, includes DIG Hashimu Argungu (rtd) as Chairman, DIG Taiwo Lekanu (rtd) as Member, and Onyemuche Nnamani as Secretary. They officially assumed duty on Thursday, July 4, 2024.
Today, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Board inaugurated “The Arena of Knowledge,” a weekly lecture series for PSC staff. Chairman Argungu emphasized the importance of continuous knowledge sharing to improve service delivery within the nation’s civil service.
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At the inaugural lecture, Chairman Argungu and Director of Legal Services, Bar. Babatunde Dada presented papers. Argungu’s paper, titled “The Innocent Victim: Wrongful Garnishment Against Police Service Commission,” addressed pending garnishee proceedings against the PSC concerning a Central Bank of Nigeria account holding training funds. He highlighted several objections to the garnishments, asserting that the Commission is a victim of wrongful garnishment.
Argungu recommended that the PSC’s legal department liaise with the Commissioner of Police Legal Services to investigate the civil suits and seek a resolution. He also suggested a mechanism to identify and address the causes of such legal issues.
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In his presentation, Bar. Dada attributed the PSC’s persistent garnishee problems to a lack of legal representation in court cases, leading to judgments against the Commission. He proposed a public-private partnership (PPP) with private legal firms willing to handle cases pro bono and advocated for inter-agency cooperation to resolve the debts.
Dada also recommended disciplinary actions against any police officers involved in the litigations and suggested alternative dispute resolution methods. He proposed collaborating with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to deploy newly called-to-bar corps members to the PSC’s legal department.
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The next lecture in the “Arena of Knowledge” series will take place on Wednesday, July 27, 2024, focusing on the leakages of classified documents and their consequences. A subsequent lecture will address cybercrime issues since 2015.