The Police Service Commission says the Supreme Court has ruled in its favour to solely take the responsibility of recruiting constables into the Nigeria Police Force.
The PUNCH reports that for over four years, the PSC and the NPF had engaged in a fierce legal battle on who should be responsible for the recruitment of police constables, following the approval by former President Muhammadu Buhari, to recruit 10,000 constables each year for six years.
In a correspondence on Sunday, the spokesman for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, claimed that on July 11, 2023, the apex court in the land decided and laid to rest the contentious issue and controversy between the commission and the police.
However, The PUNCH could not obtain the Certified True Copy of the said judgment, as Ani couldn’t provide it when our correspondent requested it on Sunday.
“In the judgment, the Supreme Court ‘unequivocally pronounced’ the commission as an agency statutorily mandated to do so,” Ani said, quoting the Chairman of the PSC, Solomon Arase to have said the judgment was in the interest of national security.
The PSC spokesperson, however, explained that prior to the judgment, efforts were already in process and at an advanced stage towards an amicable resolution of the issue between the two critical institutions.
Ani added that it was highly embarrassing to the government and indeed other stakeholders for the duo which ought to work in harmony and mutuality to have engaged in such avoidable legal disputation over an issue that sought understanding, respect and compromise.
He further quoted the commission’s boss, Arase, to have said the judgment simply and legally cements the resolution of the issue in a win-win situation for the two institutions which ordinarily cannot effectively function and deliver on their respective mandates without the cooperation of each other.
“It must be said and seen, therefore, that the judgment is delivered for the overall best interest of our national security, and goes to underscore the imperative need for harmonious working relationship and mutual trust amongst agencies of the government.
“Consequently, it is important that all concerned de-escalate and eschew all forms of hostilities, misconceptions, preconceptions and prejudices against each other which were at the base of the hitherto characterizing of a no love-lost relationship between the Commission and the NPF.
“He noted that the unnecessary imbroglio impacted negatively on the staff of the Police Service Commission and officers and other ranks of the Nigeria Police Force,” Ani quoted Arase to have said.
He further disclosed that Arase announced that a recruitment board has been constituted, and it would be chaired by the PSC chairman with other relevant stakeholders as members, adding that the board would be inaugurated soon.
“The board will screen and ensure that only able and qualified members of the public are recruited into the NPF, reflecting also the principle of Federal Character,” the PSC spokesperson added.
