President Muhammadu Buhari has once again restated his zero tolerance for any form of irregularity or extortion from applicants in the coming recruitment into the police.
At a meeting yesterday with officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Police Service Commission,(PSC) in the Presidential Villa, Buhari said that applicants having to pay bribes before being accepted into the police in the past was totally unacceptable. The President told the officials that those in charge of recruitment and training in the Police must be above board and eschew every form of extortion and underhand dealings.
The President also directed the Inspector-General of Police to prune the number of policemen attached to dignitaries, big men and redeploy all policemen withdrawn from that role to regular police duties.
On the stagnation of policemen in terms of promotion, the President urged the PSC to review the current structure of the police, and make recommendations on how the problem can be solved to boost the morale of serving officers.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr James Obiegbu had, in his briefing of the President, listed inadequate personnel, dwindling finances and non-rehabilitation of training schools as some of the challenges facing the Force.
The Chairman of the PSC, Mike Okiro, said that the country needs to have more than the 305,579 policemen and women which it has at present for effective policing. He thanked President Buhari for approving the recruitment of 10,000 additional officers. Speaking to State House correspondents after the briefing of the President on the activities of the commission, Okiro said the shortage had come as a result of retirement, deaths and dismissal of some personnel.
