Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police has stated that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) currently does not have positions available for People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs).
Egbetokun made this declaration during a conference with Strategic Police Managers in Abuja on Thursday.
Addressing journalists, he clarified the NPF’s stance on the recruitment saga between the Police Service Commission (PSC) and NPF, emphasizing the importance of recruiting quality personnel to ensure effective policing.
“The supreme ruling gave the recruitment into the police force to the Police Service Commission (PSC). That does not mean that the NPF will not be carried along in the recruitment process.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that quality personnel are recruited into the police force. If we don’t pay attention to recruitment, disaster is awaiting”, Egbetokun said.
Egbetokun stressed the sensitivity of police work and the need for careful selection of recruits. “We can’t sit here as members of the police force management team and allow that to happen.
“We recognize the power of the commission to recruit for us. We don’t have jobs for the deaf and dumb. They can get jobs elsewhere. For now, in the Nigerian police, we don’t have space for them, he stated.
He suggested that there might be future opportunities for PLWDs within the force as modern policing becomes more inclusive.
“Maybe in the future, because modern policing is inclusive. Then we will be able to recruit PLWDs into the police, and we would have made arrangements for special training for them so that they can function effectively.”
Egbetokun reiterated that the NPF’s position is not adversarial. “The police job is very sensitive, so we have to be careful with the quality of people we recruit into the Force. That is what we are saying. We are not fighting with anybody.”
BusinessDay Newspapers reported that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had raised concerns about the ongoing recruitment of police constables, alleging corruption and irregularities in the process.
In a statement released by Muyiwa Adejobi NPF spokesperson, the police force dissociated itself from the recent list of successful candidates published by the PSC.
