Supreme Court ruled in our favour to recruit police constables, PSC claims

The Police Service Commission asserts that it has been granted permission by the Supreme Court to be the sole organization in charge of hiring constables for the Nigeria Police Force.

According to reports, since former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the hiring of 10,000 constables per year for six years, the PSC and the NPF have been engaged in a protracted legal dispute over who should be in charge of hiring police constables.

The PSC’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, asserted in a letter sent on Sunday that on July 11, 2023, the nation’s highest court would make a decision on the hotly contested issue and put an end to the conflict between the commission and the police.

However, Ani was unable to provide the Certified True Copy of the aforementioned judgment when our correspondent requested it on Sunday, so they were unable to do so.

According to Solomon Arase, Chairman of the PSC, who asserted that the decision was in the best interest of national security, “In the judgment, the Supreme Court ‘unequivocally pronounced’ the commission as an agency statutorily mandated to do so,” Ani said.

The PSC spokesperson clarified that, at the time of the ruling, efforts to settle the conflict amicably between the two significant institutions were already in motion and advanced.

Ani went on to say that it was very embarrassing for the government and other parties involved for the two parties to engage in such a pointless legal battle over a situation that required understanding, respect, and compromise.

He continued, saying that the decision “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 cooperation with each other.” He supported this claim with a quote from the commission’s director, Arase.

Therefore, it must be explicitly stated and shown that the judgment was made with our national security as a whole in mind. This emphasizes how crucial it is for governmental organizations to have strong working relationships and mutual trust.

Therefore, it is essential that all parties defuse the situation and steer clear of any hostilities, misunderstandings, preconceptions, and biases that were the cornerstone of the relationship between the Commission and the NPF, which was previously described as a no-love-lost one.

Ani cited Arase as saying, “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.”

He continued by citing Arase’s statement that a recruitment board had been established, that it would be presided over by the PSC chairman, consist of other important stakeholders, and would soon be inaugurated.

The PSC spokesperson added, “The board will screen applicants and make sure that only capable and qualified members of the public are hired into the NPF, reflecting also the principle of Federal Character.