The chairman, Police Service Commission, Mr Mike Okiro has unveiled a portal for the recruitment exercise of 10,000 policemen, as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement authorised by Head, Press and Public Relations, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, the commission would be recruiting into the three entry points of constable, as well as both Cadet Inspector and ASP.
The portal, according to the release, would be opened to public on April 1, 2016, saying the commission considered the exercise remarkable since there has not been recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force for more than five years now due to financial constraints.
According to the statement, “the commission could not commence the exercise last year because the funding was not captured in the 2015 budget, and with the commencement of the process on April 1, interested Nigerians should access the portal through the commission’s website www.psc.gov.ng or that of the Nigeria Police Force www.npf.gov.ng.
“There will be no charges for the processing of the forms, which will be done online. We are not charging money. It is free, absolutely free. The portal has been structured in a way that there will be no short cut. Everybody must go through due process.
There will also be recruitment into the specialist cadre.
“For police constables, applicants are expected to posses five credit level passes including Mathematics and English Language at Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in not more than two sittings and for cadet inspectors, in addition to having the requirements of police constables, candidates would be expected to have either an Ordinary National Diploma (OND), Advanced Level (A level), as well as National Certificate of Education (NCE) or their equivalents.
“Candidates for Cadet ASPs must possess a University degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND)”, it added.
A much needed exercise. However, vetting of potential officers will need to be enhanced in order to make the appropriate selection – not just academic qualification but also probity, psychometric and psychological screening so as not to ‘kit’ potential killers and deviants in uniform. Nigeria has witnessed more than enough of such.