The Police Service Commission (PSC) has ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, to hand over to handover the on-going 2020 recruitment exercise of Police Constables into the Nigeria Police Force and Cadets into the Nigeria Police Academy in compliance with the Order of the Court of Appeal.
A statement issued by the PSC Spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani on Friday, said the Commission’s directive was contained in a letter to the IGP signed by the Chairman of the Commission, Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police and dated October 20th, 2020.
Following the fallouts of the ENDSARs protests, the PSC has assured that the Police that will emerge in the nearest future will meet the expectations of Nigerians. The police therefore urged Nigerians to extend to them the required cooperation and support while Government attends to the basic inadequacies facing the institution.
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The Commission also called for restraint as miscreants hijack the “EndSARS” protests to unleash terror and havoc across the country even as it expressed shocked at the level of destructions visited on innocent Nigerians, public facilities, and businesses in the country by miscreants.
It reiterated its commitment to holding Police Officers, whether of the defunct Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) or conventional, accountable for their actions and inactions and will continue to ensure instant due punishments for misconduct, the statement said.
The Commission noted that it recently dismissed ten senior Police Officers including an Assistant Commissioner of Police and reduced the rank of nine others following established cases of misconduct.
“The Commission will process and punish all Policemen found culpable by the Presidential Panel on Reform of the defunct SARS. The Panel had concluded its assignment in 2018 but submitted its Report to the Commission on Friday, 16th October 2020. The Commission is still awaiting the white paper on the Report from the National Human Rights Commission so as to quicken its disciplinary mechanism and ensure that those to be dismissed are immediately flushed out from the system,” the statement said.
The Commission, however, condemned the unprovoked killing of Policemen and women across the country and the burning of Police stations, stressing that the action was barbaric and unfortunate. It noted that Police Officers are also Nigerians that have sacrificed their lives and comfort for the safety of the citizens and their properties and deserves nothing but commendation, support, and encouragement.
The Commission, therefore, warned that any attempt to force the country into a state of lawlessness will be an ill wind that will blow nobody any good.
