The Police Service Commission (PSC) has called on the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to present evidence supporting the allegations made against it concerning the recruitment of constables.
In a statement issued on Friday by its Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, the PSC asserted that the NPF’s actions were clearly aimed at damaging its reputation.
“The Commission has at every turn suffered several indignities in its attempt to perform functions provided to it by the Constitution even after the Supreme Court decided the matter in its favour.
“That this show of brute force and intimidation by the Police and most recently inducements of hired writers to run down the Commission in the Media is a serious affront to the mandate of the Commission.
“The Commission has studied the issues around this successfully concluded recruitment exercise and has concluded that even after the Supreme Court Judgment, the Police is reluctant to allow the Commission to perform this constitutional assignment.
“The Commission demands that the Police should provide verifiable evidence to prove the allegations peddled against it as it is obvious that it is a case of giving a dog a bad name to hang it,” it said.
In a statement on Saturday, Force spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi announced that the police rejected the names of those recruited by the commission. Adejobi explained that upon reviewing the PSC portal, it was found that “several names of purportedly successful candidates were of individuals who did not even apply and, therefore, did not participate in the recruitment exercise.”
The Joint Union Congress of the PSC strongly denied these allegations and subsequently called for the removal of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun.
On Thursday, Egbetokun denied having any personal issue with the PSC, stating that his actions were aimed at ensuring that only qualified individuals were recruited into the force.
In response, the PSC asserted that the recruitment process was conducted with due diligence and emphasized its authority over NPF recruitments. The commission insisted that both its list of successful candidates and the police list should undergo a forensic audit using the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) computer-based test results.
Ani highlighted that the Supreme Court judgment on July 11, 2023, which granted the commission the power to recruit, did not assign any role to the police. This statement contradicted IGP Egbetokun’s claim that while the Supreme Court granted the PSC recruitment power, it did not exclude the police from the process.
He said, “It is relevant to state that the judgment and even the Constitution did not give the Police any role in the recruitment of any cadre of Officers into the Police Force”.
Ani noted that while the police attributed their inability to perform to poor recruitment practices, the previous recruitment by the police is hindering their ability to discharge their duties effectively.
“It is unfortunate that the Police has attributed its obvious failure to protect lives and properties and safeguard our nation from banditry and terrorism to bad recruitment,” the statement read.
“This claim is self-indicting and provocative. Since 2019 when the Police forcefully snatched the exercise from the Commission, they have gone ahead against the provisions of the law to Superintendent over the 2020 and 2021 exercises.
“It is the fraudulent Recruits they brought into the system during these exercises that are currently haunting the Nigeria Police Force.”
Ani called on President Bola Tinubu to caution Egbetokun to respect the constitutional mandate of the commission.
He said, “It is the considered opinion of the Commission that the successful candidates should be allowed to proceed on training without delay.”
“The Commission wishes to appeal to Mr. President to protect it and rein in the Nigeria Police Force to respect the Constitutional Mandate of the Commission to recruit. The Nigeria Police Force is created to enforce the law and not to circumvent it in whatever guise.”
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