THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, has accused the Police Service Commission (PSC) of filling the recently released list of newly recruited constables with unqualified and untrainable individuals.
Egbetokun said the Police has since dissociated itself from the published list, calling for a review that would be transparent and credible, saying he has been confronted with complaints and allegations of corruption by unsuspecting candidates and stakeholders on the irregularities that marred the exercise.
Egbetokun, in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi (ACP), said names of screened candidates who were successful to the last stage were removed, adding that upon scrutiny of the list released on the PSC portal, it was discovered that several names of persons purported to be names of successful candidates were those who did not even apply and therefore did not take part in the recruitment exercise.
The statement read: “The published list contains several names of candidates who failed either the Computer Based Test (CBT) or the physical screening exercise or both.
“There are those who made it to the last stage of the exercise, but were disqualified, having been found medically unfit through the standardised medical test, but who also made the list of successful candidates, as published by the PSC.
“Most worrisome is the allegation of financial dealings and corrupt practices, leading to the outcome where unqualified and untrainable individuals have been shortlisted.”
The IGP, on June 10, wrote a letter of objection to the list addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, citing the discoveries listed above, without prejudice to the power of the Commission to recruit for the Police, as ruled by the Supreme Court, stating: “This power does not include the power to recruit unqualified and untrained individuals for the Police.”
Egbetokun lamented that it is the Police that bears the brunt of recruitment of unqualified individuals, and not the PSC, adding: “The same people who recruited anyhow for the Police today will turn round to accuse the Police tomorrow of inefficiency when their recruits start messing up.”
He stated that the PSC, after the Supreme Court affirmation if its powers to recruit for the Police, constituted a Joint Recruitment Board, to be headed by one of the commissioners of the PSC, with the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Training and Development in the Police Force, as its Secretary.
The statement noted: “But surprisingly, the Board was crippled and never allowed to carry out its mandate, insomuch that even the final list was not consented to by the Board.
“The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), therefore, takes exception to this unpleasant development and calls for a total review of the process with a view to recruiting qualified, competent, trainable and productive hands into the NPF, in line with the vision of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration on police reform.
“The NPF hereby reiterates that we are not unconcerned about the plights and ordeals of prospective recruits, who have been subjected to all forms of rigorous screening exercise, assuring that it is our commitment to ensure that the process is thoroughly reviewed, stands fruitful and successful for the betterment of the Nigeria Police, and by extension the country.”
