PSC asks police to provide evidence of corruption in recruitment exercise

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has asked the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to provide evidence that the recent constable recruitment exercise was marred by corruption.

In a statement on Friday, Ikechukwu Ani, PSC spokesperson, said NPF does not respect the commission’s mandate to recruit personnel for the police.

The NPF had said the recruitment exercise was marred by gratification and irregularities.

“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,” the statement reads.

Ani said the commission is “disturbed by the flagrant abuse” of the supreme court’s judgment that reaffirmed the constitutional mandate of the commission.

BACKGROUND

On June 15, NPF rejected the list of 10,000 successful applicants for constable and specialist cadre roles, which was released by the PSC on June 4.

Muyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, said the recruitment was a tainted process.

Adejobi said the published list of successful constables contains the names of candidates who “failed either the computer-based test (CBT) or the physical screening exercise, or both.

On June 10, President Bola Tinubu sacked Solomon Arase as PSC chairman and replaced him with Hashimu Argungu, a retired police officer.

Responding to the allegations, the joint union congress of the PSC alleged that police attempted to compromise the exercise, while calling for the sack of Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police.

‘SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PROCEED ON TRAINING’

In the statement, the PSC spokesperson said the NPF “hired writers to run down the commission” and that the release of the IGP’s letter to the public was against civil service rules.

Ani said it is “unfortunate and self-indicting” for the police to attribute its failure to address banditry to shoddy recruitment.

“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,” the statement reads.

“It is the fraudulent recruits that they brought into the system during these exercises that are currently haunting the Nigeria Police Force.

“The commission is aware that all these distractions are calculated attempts by the police to hold on, by all means, to the recruitment of police constables despite the supreme court judgment.

“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 PSC spokesperson said the commission believes that successful candidates should be allowed to undergo training without delay.