Police Recruitment Starts Soon – PSC Chair, Smith; Decries Proliferation Of Investigative Units |The Source

By Ayodele Oni

Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Alhaji Musiliu Smith says recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, will soon begin.

Smith, also, called for synergy between the PSC and the NPF in the interest of the nation.

Alhaji Smith spoke when he received in audience the Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali and some senior officers of the Force in Abuja.

A statement by the spokesman of the Commission, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, said the Chairman reiterated the need for the two Federal concerns to work together to solve the nation’s security challenges.

Alhaji Smith, who prayed for a successful tenure for the Acting Inspector General of Police, assured him of the Commission’s guidance and support but noted that the IGP should listen to, and carry his Management team along in the discharge of his duties.

“You should encourage and benefit from team work with your management team; let them be free to advise you; listen to them,” adding that members of the management team should not be afraid to advise him but should also not mislead him.

“Be truthful to the IGP, give him his due respect and the Nigeria Police will make a lot of progress.”

Alhaji Smith announced that recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force would soon begin after issues relating to the exercise are resolved in the interest of the Commission, the NPF, and in the greater interest of the nation.

He decried the proliferation of investigative units in the Nigeria Police Force and demanded that the Acting IGP quickly look into it to save the Police Force of the huge embarrassments these units bring to the force.

According to him, there must be proper monitoring of Police investigative units to stem the atrocities its officials commit in the line of duty, stressing the need to quickly treat cases of misconduct by these Officers.

“It is this set of Officers that have continued to damage the image of the Force and you should quickly get these bad eggs out of the Force.

“You should also ensure sanity among the ranks and file and even the officers.”

The PSC Chairman charged the new police boss to give  training a priority and build strong intelligence base so as to detect and control crime.

He called for the revival of the Police Detective College in Enugu so that it will provide the required platform for training in intelligence gathering.

The  IGP urged the Commission to go beyond recruitment and promotion and assert its authority to make the Nigeria Police Force better.

He noted that the Commission should go ahead to produce the Police Force the nation needs using the reward and punishment  procedure, adding that the area of discipline has been neglected in the Force.

Alkali said the Force would be happy to work with products of the Commission’s recruitment and said the 35 Police training schools in the country should be made to be busy with all year programmes.