Rivers floors FG over police trust fund deductions.
A Federal High Court has declared unconstitutional the Federal Government’s deduction of funds directly from the Federation Account to fund the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in line with Section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act 2019.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Rivers State Government against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
The Accountant General of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Minister of Finance Justice Mohammed declared that the provisions of Section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act 2019, which require the Federal Government to deduct 0.05 per cent of any funds in the Federation Account and 0.005 per cent of the net profit of companies operating in the country to fund the police are unconstitutional.
The judge said the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act are inconsistent with the provisions of Section 162(1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution, which stated that the payment of total revenue collected by the Government of the Federation, including levies and taxes, must be paid into the Federation Account for sharing among the three tiers of government.
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The court agreed with Rivers State’s contention that, by virtue of Section 162 (3) of the Nigerian Constitution, funds standing to the credit of the Federation Account can only be distributed among the Federal, State and Local Governments in each State of the federation and not directly to any agency of the Federal Government, including the Nigeria Police Force.
He said by the provision of Section 162(3) of the Constitution, no other entity, outside the three tiers of government, is entitled to partake in the sharing of funds standing to the credit of the Federation Account.
Justice Mohammed stated that since the police is an agency of the Federal Government, it is the duty of the Federal Government to establish and maintain the Nigeria Police Force and not the States.
He, however, ordered the Federal Government to refund to the Rivers State Government its share of the funds from the Federation Account that has been illegally deducted since it commenced the deduction of funds based on provisions of Section 4(1) (a) and (b) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act.
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike in his reaction, said the court verdict is a resounding victory for democracy because the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, which the Federal Government relied on to deduct the funds from the Federation Account is in contravention of the 1999 Constitution.
The Governor acknowledged that though the National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to enact laws, in enacting the Police Trust Fund Act, they went beyond their powers by contravening the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria.
Speaking further on the order of the court that the State government should be refunded the money deducted from its share to fund the police, Governor Wike said the order would put an end to impunity.
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