705,352 apply for 10,000 police jobs

The Police Service Commission has received 705,352 applications from candidates seeking employment into the Nigeria Police Force.

A breakdown of the applications showed that 202, 427 applicants have successfully applied for the position of Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police, 169,446 for the position of Cadet Inspector and 333,479 for the position of Constables.

A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations, PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, on Tuesday in Abuja, explained that the commission planned to recruit 500 Cadet ASPs, 500 Cadet Inspectors, 1,500 Specialist Officers and 7, 500 Constables to meet President Muhammadu Buhari’s approved 10,000 new entrants into the Force.

It said that the PSC Chairman, Dr. Mike Okiro, confirmed that the application process had been smooth and transparent, adding that the commission was committed to making the recruitment a huge success.

The statement partly read, “The Police Service Commission has at 7.30am on  Tuesday, April 19th, received 705,352 applications from applicants who are seeking employment into the recently advertised 10,000 vacancies into the Nigeria Police Force.

“President Muhammadu Buhari at last year’s National Security Summit had approved the recruitment of 10,000 policemen into the nation’s Police Force to reinforce the Nigeria Police for better service.”

Okiro, according to the statement, said the PSC would continue to make the process of the recruitment transparent and assured the applicants of fairness and equal opportunity “since the commission is only interested in recruiting for the police the best brains in the society.”

It added  that Okiro was excited by the huge interest shown by Nigerians in joining the police force.

Meanwhile, the PSC has promised to ensure accountability in the conduct of police officers, stating that it would stop impunity in Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, retired Justice of the Supreme Court and a PSC Commissioner, said this at a capacity building workshop for the commission’s Public Complaints Committee in Abuja.

 Adekeye, who is also the Chairman of the Committee, said the PSC would positively bridge the gap between the public and the police by holding the Force accountable and ensuring that police officers conduct their duties in line with laid down rules and regulations and in consonance with the rule of law.

She said that the committee had received 94 complaints from both the public and the police since it started sitting in November, 2015, adding that it (the Committee) was treating 23 of such cases.

 Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, on Tuesday warned officers and men of the Force against human rights violation across the country.

Arase said the police authority would not spare any of its men or officers found guilty of any human rights abuse.

The IGP stated this at a four-day northern-based human rights training of trainers workshop for instructors from the NPF training institutions from the North.

The workshop  was declared open by the IGP and  had the Prisoners Rehabilitation And Welfare Action (PRAWA) as it Technical/Lead Coordinator.

It was  supported by the German International Corporation (GIZ), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria.

The IGP  was represented by Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Training and Development, AIG Olufemi Adenaike.

While speaking on the sideline of the event, Arase insisted that the Force would not spare any of its men or officers who is found guilty of any human rights abuses.

The IGP said, “The human rights training of trainers’ workshop is aimed at providing the necessary platform to reach out to men and officers of the NPF on the need for the promotion and protection of human rights in the discharge of our duties.”