Recruitment: Police stopping us from performing our duties, says PSC

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has condemned the alleged lapses raised by the Nigeria Police Force in the recruitment of Constables into the NPF.

The PSC said the letter sent to its chairman by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on the alleged lapses was a gross violation of the Public Service Rules with grave consequences.

The PSC alleged that the NPF has been reluctant to allow the commission to perform its duties, adding that the successful candidates for the Constable recruitment should be allowed to proceed on training without delay.

The PSC said this in a statement issued by its spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, on Friday, June 21, 2024.

Ani stated that since 2019 when a former IGP allegedly hijacked the soft copy of an ongoing recruitment exercise and forcefully completed the exercise without the input of the PSC – the statutory body solely charged with such responsibility – the commission has not been allowed to perform this constitutional duty.

He noted that the PSC has at every turn suffered several indignities in its attempt to perform functions provided to it by the constitution after the Supreme Court decided the matter in its favour.

He added: “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 on the mandate of the Commission.

“The Commission has studied the issues around this successfully concluded recruitment exercise and has come to the conclusion that even after the Supreme Court judgement, the Police is reluctant to allow the Commission to perform this constitutional assignment.

Police: Constables recruitment marred with irregularities, corruption

“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 in order to hang it.

“It is important to state that due process was meticulously followed throughout the exercise and the Commission wishes to assert its prerogative to exercise full control over recruitments into the Nigeria Police Force.

“The Commission is also insisting that its list of successful candidates and that of the Police should be subjected to a forensic audit using the result of the JAMB computer based test.”

The PSC spokesman further stated that the Supreme Court judgement delivered on July 11, 2023, in the case of NPF & Ors v Police Service Commission & Anor (2023) – LPELR-60782(SC) reinforces the commission’s  “exclusive” statutory authority in the recruitment of constables.

Ani said the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal judgement delivered on September 30, 2020, noting: “The Appeal Court among other decisions gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, jointly or severally, by themselves or through officers, agents or representatives or through any other body or appointee of the Federal Government of Nigeria from further exercising or purporting to exercise the powers to appoint, promote, dismiss or in any manner howsoever exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or aspiring to hold any office in the Nigeria  Police Force other than the Inspector General of Police.

“It also gave an order nullifying any act or attempt by the defendants whether acting jointly or severally in appointing or purporting to appoint any person into 1st defendant whether by means of enlistment, shortlisting, recognition recruitment or in any other manner howsoever, such act or attempt being ultra vires the functions and powers of the defendants.”

The PSC spokesperson, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to “protect the Commission 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.”

The Star