Despite the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming the Police Service Commission’s (PSC) power to recruit constables into the Nigeria Police Force, a fresh collision between the two bodies may be looming.
The police high command has rejected the list of successful candidates in the ongoing police constables’ recruitment exercise conducted by the PSC, citing alleged irregularities and corruption.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated, “Several names of persons purported to be names of successful candidates are those who did not even apply and therefore did not take part in the recruitment exercise.”
The Explainer learned that the development comes after a four-year legal battle between the PSC and the Nigeria Police Force over who should be responsible for recruiting police constables. In July 2023, the Supreme Court resolved the issue in favor of the commission, following the approval for the recruitment of 10,000 constables each year for six years by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has rejected the list of successful candidates in the ongoing 2022/23 police constables’ recruitment, citing irregularities.
Allegations of Irregularities and Corruption
According to Adejobi, the list also contained names of candidates who had failed either the Computer Based Test (CBT) or the physical screening, as well as those disqualified after being found medically unfit.
“Most worrisome is the allegation of financial dealings and corrupt practices leading to the outcome where unqualified and untrainable individuals have been shortlisted,” Adejobi stated.
In a letter dated June 10, Egbetokun objected to the list and cited the irregularities discovered, Adejobi revealed.
“The reaction of the IGP was without prejudice to the power of the commission to recruit for the police as ruled by the Supreme Court, but this power does not include the power to recruit unqualified and untrained individuals for the police,” Adejobi added.
Adejobi argued that the police bear the brunt of recruiting unqualified individuals, not the PSC.
“The same people who recruited anyhow for the police today will turn around to accuse the police tomorrow of inefficiency when their recruits start messing up,” he said.
The police have dissociated themselves from the published list and called for a transparent and credible review of the process to recruit “qualified, competent, trainable, and productive hands into the Nigeria Police Force, in line with the vision of President Bola Tinubu-led administration on police reform.”
“The police are committed to ensuring the process is thoroughly reviewed to be fruitful and successful for the betterment of the force and the country,” Adejobi said.