Foremost constitutional lawyers, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) and Chief Solomon Akuma (SAN), have thrown their weight behind the Police Service Commission (PSC) in its ongoing dispute with the Nigeria Police Academy (POLAC), Wudil, Kano State, over the propriety of the institution’s recent advertisement calling for applications into its 12th Regular Course Degree Programme.
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The Police Academy had announced in an advertorial that online applications would open on July 28 and close on September 8, 2025. However, the PSC quickly issued a counterstatement declaring the announcement “null and void” and an “undisguised attempt to undermine” its constitutional mandate to appoint officers into the Nigeria Police Force.
In the statement issued by its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, the PSC emphasized that recruitment into the police force must be a joint process involving all relevant stakeholders to prevent “spoils system, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, and other related vices.” The Commission further stated that it was not consulted before POLAC issued the advert and called on the public to disregard the notice.
According to the PSC, key stakeholders including the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Federal Character Commission, and the Nigeria Police Force were also not consulted prior to the announcement.
In separate interviews with Sunday Telegraph, Chief Ahamba and Chief Akuma affirmed that the power of recruitment into the Nigeria Police rests constitutionally with the PSC and not the Nigeria Police Force or its training institutions.
Ahamba, a former presidential candidate and senior lawyer, stressed the supremacy of the Supreme Court’s earlier decision affirming the PSC’s role in police recruitment. “The Supreme Court has spoken, and that is final,” he said. “The Civil Service Commission recruits civil servants; why should the Police Service Commission not recruit policemen?”
He added, “If training at the Police Academy is considered part of the recruitment process, then the Police Service Commission must be involved. The Academy can only assist the Commission not bypass it.”
Ahamba also underscored the legal necessity of including the PSC in lawsuits involving police officers, noting that its involvement in recruitment and discipline is constitutionally grounded.
Chief Akuma, a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Abia State, echoed similar sentiments. He said the Constitution clearly defines the PSC’s powers as an executive body responsible for appointment, promotion, and discipline of police officers.
“If those admitted into the Academy are to become officers in the Nigeria Police Force after graduation, then the PSC must play a central role in their recruitment,” Akuma said. “Anyone handling police recruitment must do so with the Commission’s consent.”
He further argued that allowing an institution to recruit without oversight from the PSC contradicts the principle that the body that appoints must also have the power to promote. “You cannot separate the powers to appoint and to promote; it must be coherent and constitutionally consistent,” he stated.
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