August 23, (THEWILL) – The Police Service Commission (PSC) has assured that the controversy between it and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), regarding the 2022 constable recruitment exercise into the Force would be resolved between the two parties.
The Commission, in a statement, issued on Tuesday, by its Spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, advised that “all interested applicants and other Nigerians desirous of a career in the Nigeria Police Force should exercise patience while these issues are being resolved.”
The statement reads in part, “the Police Service Commission notes the publication of the Nigeria Police Force with regard to the 2022 constable recruitment exercise.
“The commission wishes to state that all contending issues around the exercise will be resolved between the two parties in the interest of the nation.
“All interested applicants and other Nigerians desirous of a career in the Nigeria Police Force should exercise patience while these issues are being resolved.
“The commission will continue to strive to give Nigerians a Police Force they will be proud of.”
THEWILL reports that the PSC had opened its portal for the recruitment of police constable for the year 2022 and placed an advert on the recruitment in a newspaper.
But in response to the development, the Nigeria Police Force urged Nigerians to disregard the advertisement.
A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had said the advert had no connection with the Nigeria Police Force and was not in tandem with the police recruitment process.
The statement read in part: “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform well-meaning members of the public that it has not commenced the 2022 police constables recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, contrary to a publication on Page 21 of Daily Sun Newspaper of Thursday, August 11, 2022 by the Police Service Commission (PSC).
“The police similarly state unequivocally that the advert has no connection with the Nigeria Police Force nor is it in tandem with the police recruitment process, and should be disregarded in all its entirety. The website to which the publication refers intending candidates – http://www.recruitment.psc.gov.ng – is not associated with the Nigeria Police Force.
“The Nigeria Police Force hereby calls on all stakeholders and intending applicants to discountenance the information in both the newspaper and on the portal as the website is not the official portal for Police Constables recruitment.
“The Nigeria Police Force, thereby, assures well-meaning Nigerians that the commencement of the 2022 recruitment exercise will be announced via the official police e-recruitment website – https://policerecruitment.gov.ng, the Nigeria Police Force official website – https://www.npf.gov.ng, and advertisements on national dailies and official police social media accounts as and when due.”
Recall that the former IGP, Mohammed Adamu, and the PSC Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, were at loggerheads over which body is allowed by law to carry out the recruitment process.
Highlighting the powers of PSC, Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 constitution (as amended) states that: “The Commission shall have power to — appoint persons to offices (other than office of the Inspector-General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force.”
On the other hand, Section 18(1) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020, which was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, states that: “The responsibility for the recruitment of recruit constables into the Nigeria Police Force and recruit cadets into the Nigeria Police Academy shall be the duty of th Inspector-General of Police.”
However, in resolving the controversy, the PSC had dragged former IGP Adamu and the Force to court for conducting the recruitment exercise of 10,000 constables in 2019.
At the federal high court, powers of the IGP to carry out the said recruitment were upheld but the appeal court later ruled that the PSC has the constitutional responsibility of recruiting police constables.
The court of appeal also declared the Police Act 2020, as it affects the constitutional mandate of PSC in terms of recruitment, as illegal.
