Police Service Commission Inaugurates Recruitment Board, Aims To Recruit Best Nigerians For Police Force

The chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase has inaugurated the first-ever board saddled with the conduct of recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with a plea to the members to recruit only the best Nigerians for the Force.

Speaking at the occasion, Arase said that the recruitment exercise would commence in no distant time, adding that it was coming on the heels of Presidential approval for the annual recruitment of 10, 000 personnel into the Force

According to Arase who is a former Inspector General of Police, it was part of President Bola Tinubu’s promise during the electioneering campaigns, aimed at strengthening the Nigeria Police towards optimal functionality in resolving the insecurity challenge in Nigeria.

He said that the task of recruiting qualified persons, of good conduct and character is no doubt an arduous one, but can be made easier through the cooperation and assistance of our community leaders, and traditional and religious institutions.

He said: “Every Nigerian who is desirous of Police Reforms in our dear country is, therefore, implored to assist the Board during the recruitment exercise by ensuring that the bad eggs in the society are not foisted on the Board, and/or allowed to surreptitiously get recruited into the NPF without alerting the Board through whistle-blowing.”

He listed some of the mandate board as determining and declaring the available vacancies in the NPF that needs to be filled up and drawing up guidelines for every recruitment process in the Nigeria Police Force.

Others include: Determining the online platform to be employed in the advertorials and recruitment of applicants as well as placement of advertorials on national dailies and other forms of information dissemination on the recruitment among others.

He, however, urged the members of the Board to shun corruption in its entirety and its appearances, saying they should “strive like Caesar’s wife to be above board in the conduct of the recruitment exercise.”

Responding, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Training Department of the Force; DIG Bala Ciroma assured that the Board would carry out its assignment diligently to be devoid of conflicts of interest in the national interest

Members of the board, who were inaugurated at the headquarters of the commission has the Commissioner representing South East Zone at the PSC, Onyemuche Nnamani as the Chairman while Olabode Akinbamilowo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police will serve as the Secretary.

Other members of the board include the DIG manning Development Training Department of the police; DIG Bala Ciroma, Alhaji Muhammed Magaji from the Ministry of Police Affairs; Mrs Ifeoma Anyanwutaku, the Permanent Secretary of the PSC; Prof. Joseph Olowofela from Federal Character Commission FCC and Representative of Police Colleges, CP Hassan Yabanet.

Also included were Yusuf Sanusi of Recruitment Department of PSC; Sani Usman Hada of ICT unit of PSC; Barr. Victoria Onyekwuluije of Legal Department of PSC and DSP Ahanmisi Obehi of the Office of Chairman of PSC.

It would be recalled that the Commission and the Nigeria Police Force were hitherto engaged in legal disputations over who has the powers and responsibilities to recruit for the Nigeria Police Force.

The avoidable imbroglio and legal tussle between the two critical institutions of Government was however laid to rest and resolved in favour of the Commission in the judgment of the Supreme court.