The Police Service Commission (PSC), has claimed that armed robbers and several undesirable elements have been found in police recruitment camps.
The Commission’s chairman, Musliu Smith, stated this during a one-day sensitisation and town-hall meeting on the Police Recruitment Exercise in Birnin Kebbi on Monday.
The PSC boss while enjoining Nigerians to alert the relevant authorities whenever they notice a not-so-good person joining the police force noted “policing are a noble act”.
According to him, “Part of the challenges the commission discovered during recruitment exercises from 2019 was the academic challenges of the applicants which is a sad reflection on the society.
“The society must encourage upright and responsible citizens to apply for recruitment. “If our responsible and upright young ones are discouraged from joining the police, where are we going to source for the police officers of our dreams? “Police and policing are a noble act and deserves the best of the society to join and change the narrative on the issue of internal security of our nation. “We must raise alarm if we notice not so good persons applying to join the police.
“There have been cases of robbers finding their way into recruitment camps. “We must all come together as a community to ensure only the best apply for and are recruited into the Nigeria police
.”It should be recalled that while Sunday Ehindero served as IGP, he had lamented that the level of corruption and lack luster attitude of members of the Force stem from the fact that police authorities have been recruiting undesirable elements into the force.
It is also a public knowledge that police recruitment processes and promotions are largely influenced by bribery and corruption rather than merit and competence.
Similarly, several police recruits who cannot pass any basic test anywhere had scalled through police screening.
In addition, police is about the only security agency that does not carry out continuous screening of its personnel and which only transfers dissident personnel rather than dismiss and prosecute such personnel, leading to public disgrace by police officers of the police institution along the nation’s highways where they shamelessly extort money from motorists.
Several police DPOs and immediate subordinates had reportedly raped detainees, even in states and stations used for pilot testing of Community Policing in recent past. (Additional reports from NAN)
