The PSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, made this in a statement on Thursday.
The Nigeria Police Force had recorded no fewer than 288,266 applicants who indicated interest and completed forms for the recruitment of constables, barely a week after the online portal was opened in October 2023.
Recall also that of the final total of 547,774 applications received a week before the portal’s closure, the PSC rejected the applications of 188,874 applicants, out of whom 84,606 applicants were rejected for being overage, while 358,900 were successful.
In his statement, Ani said the Police Recruitment Board, following a meeting on February 13, 2024, approved the JAMB CBT tests for the applicants based on the “long-standing pedigree in such examinations”.
He added that of the successful applicants, 25,818 were female while 146,138 were male, noting that Adamawa State led with the highest numbers, with 13,780 applicants, followed by Kaduna, Bauchi, Benue, and Katsina states respectively.
“The commission after the meeting of the Police Recruitment Board on Tuesday, February 13th, 2024 approved that the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, should conduct the Computer-Based Tests for the Police applicants because of its long-standing pedigree in such examinations.
For the General Duty cadre, 315, 114 applicants were invited for the screening exercise out of which 171,956 were successful and shortlisted for the JAMB CBT. The 171,956 applicants shortlisted are made up of 25,818 females and 146,138 males.
Adamawa State will be presenting the highest number of candidates for the tests with 13, 780 followed by Kaduna,12,343, Bauchi 10,911, Benue, 10,532 and Katsina,10,457. Anambra State has the least candidates for the aptitude tests with 343 applicants followed by Lagos, 504, and Ebonyi, 600. Successful candidates from the Computer-Based Tests will be required to appear for medical examinations before they proceed to training,” the statement read.
Ani further stated that the Chairman of the Commission and former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase CFR, said the Commission was on course “to conclude this exercise on time so that successful candidates can be quickly injected into the system to join in the renewed war against insurgency and banditry”.
The statement also read that Arase commended President Bola Tinubu for the opportunity to reinforce and reinvigorate the Police Force for improved performance while giving assurances that the PSC “will continue to seek for citizen-oriented and friendly Police, properly trained and equipped to provide inspiring leadership in the nation’s internal security”.