Breaking: House of Reps halts ongoing police recruitment exercise due to lingering crisis

The House of Representatives halted the ongoing recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force on Thursday due to the lingering crisis trailing the exercise.

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The resolution was passed as a sequel to the adoption of a motion titled ‘Resolving impasse: An urgent need to investigate and settle the lingering police recruitment dispute halting the 2023–2024 police recruitment,’ sponsored by Hon. Mitema Obordor.

In her lead debate, Hon. Obordor, who solicited the House intervention, underlined the critical role played by the Nigerian Police Force as the principal law enforcement and lead security agency, established in 1930 from a merger of the two preceding agencies.

He observed that the “Northern and Southern Nigeria Police, was designated by Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution as a National Police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction to provide civil services, maintain law and order, and protect lives and property.

“The House also notes that the Nigeria police force is a Federal Government organisation consisting of 36 state commands and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), grouped into 17 zones and 8 administrative organs, with a personnel strength of approximately 371,800, and headed by the Inspector-General of Police.

“The House notes further that the Nigeria Police is under the supervision of the Police Service Commission, which has the power to appoint, promote and dismiss all officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) except the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), with the objective of brokering a relationship of trust and confidence between the public and the Police.

“The House is aware that, in view of the population of Nigeria and the security situation in the country, the ideal police-to-citizen ratio in Nigeria ought to be one police officer to 200 citizens. However, the country currently has a ratio of one police officer to 650 citizens, indicating a significant shortfall in the Nigerian police strength and far below the United Nations recommendation of one police to 450 citizens.

“The House is also aware of the lingering dispute between the Nigeria Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police, which has resulted in an impasse and regrettably halted the ongoing recruitment process for almost ten months

“The House is concerned that the lingering dispute between the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police, which has resulted in a halt in the 2023–2024 recruitment process, exacerbates the existing shortage of police personnel, undermining the police’s capacity to effectively respond to security threats.

“The House recognises the critical need to strengthen the Nigerian police force by setting a ratio of one police officer to 200 citizens or adopting the United Nations recommendation of a ratio of one police officer to 450 citizens to address the escalating security challenges facing our nation.

“The House also recognises that the resolution of the lingering dispute between the police service commission and the Inspector-General of Police and the recruitment of additional police officers is crucial to bolstering Nigeria’s security and ensuring the safety of citizens.

“The House is worried that this shortage of police personnel has reduced police presence in communities, thereby leading to a surge in crime rates as criminals take advantage of the situation, especially in Bayelsa State, compromised public safety, eroded trust in the Police force, and eroded the Government’s ability to ensure security.

“The House is also worried that the dispute between the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police, which has resulted in a halt in police recruitment and the attendant capacity shortage and weakness of the Nigerian police, may have far-reaching national security implications, potentially emboldening terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements,” he noted.

Worried by the ugly development, the House mandated its Committee on Police to investigate the root cause of the lingering dispute between the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police.

The House also mandated the Committee to invite both parties with a view to providing explanations and clarifications with the aim of resolving the dispute, proceeding with the recruitment process without further delay, and reporting to the House with recommendations within four weeks.

In the same vein, the House directed the Police Service Commission to work in collaboration with the Inspector-General of Police and other relevant authorities to embark on a comprehensive recruitment campaign to enlist 400,000 police officers or continue the ongoing recruitment exercise with a target of enlisting 400,000 police officers to achieve the above-recommended police-to-citizen ratio in order to address the shortage of police capacity and effectively address our security challenges.

The House also tasked the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police to cooperate fully with the committee during the investigation with a view to working towards a speedy resolution of the dispute.

The lawmakers also harped on the need for the federal government to provide adequate funding and resources necessary to support the recruitment and training of police officers.

Similarly, the House should mandate the various House Committees on Police to monitor the recruitment process and report back to the House within three months.

After the debate, the House resolved to transmit copies of the motion to the Minister of Police Affairs and the National Security Adviser (NSA) for consideration and necessary action.