Sophia Michaels
The Police Service Commission has said a press statement on social media directing all applicants who have gone through the various stages of recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force to check a website for the final list is fake.
This followed an online press statement directing applicants to visit a suspicious website.
But, Ikechukwu Ani, the Head, Press and Public Relations in a statement disowned the statement and a purported list in circulation in some unofficial quarters meant to represent the names of successful applicants from the just concluded recruitment exercise.
He said, “The Commission is aware that the Force Public Relations Officer who was quoted to have signed the Press Statement on the release of the final list of successful applicants has since disowned the Statement.”
”The Commission, however, wishes to direct that the Police Force should investigate the source of “that fake news” and bring the perpetrators to book.
“The Commission wishes to inform the general public that the Commission in pursuit of its Constitutional powers, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Suit No: SC/CV/773/2020 between the Nigeria Police Force & ors v. Police Service Commission and anor and the Joint Recruitment Board is the sole authority on the Recruitment of Officers into the Nigeria Police Force.” It said
”The Commission wishes to state categorically that it has no intention to abdicate its constitutional mandate to recruit but will continue to accommodate relevant stakeholders in the performance of this sacred constitutional mandate.
It said any attempt, action or inaction by anybody, person or persons, office or offices to release any list of successful candidates into the Nigeria Police Force is contemptuous of the constitutional and Judicial pronouncements and such shall be so treated.
”The list of successful candidates for the 2022 Recruitment exercise will soon be released by the Commission.
“It is instructive to state that the Commission in an attempt to ensure credibility and inclusiveness in the conduct of the recruitment exercise set up a Police Recruitment Board made up of representatives of relevant stakeholders in the Police Sector. These include the Police Service Commission, the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Police Affairs, Federal Character Commission, Police Colleges and Police Trust Fund.”
”The Commission had in good conscience and to avoid the pitfalls of previous exercises ran into troubled waters and pitched the Commission against the Nigeria Police Force, created the Recruitment Board, a multi-sector stakeholders body to serve as a unifying body for a crisis-free recruitment exercise.
