The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, denied any conflict between the police and the Police Service Commission (PSC) regarding the recently concluded recruitment exercise, on Thursday 20th, June 2024.
He emphasized that as the head of Africa’s largest police force, he is committed to ensuring the quality of new recruits.
A statement released by the police on Saturday, through Force Spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi, rejected the list of successful candidates published by the PSC, alleging it was tainted by corruption and irregularities.
In response, Adoyi Adoyi, chairman of the Joint Union Congress of the PSC, denied these allegations and accused the police of attempting to insert unauthorized names into the list.
On Wednesday, Adoyi called for the removal of the IGP for allegedly making false accusations against the commission.
However, during a meeting with commanders in Abuja, Egbetokun clarified that there is no issue with the Supreme Court’s judgment, which grants the PSC the authority to handle police recruitment.
Egbetokun acknowledged the Supreme Court’s ruling but noted that the court also recognized the necessity of involving the police in the recruitment process.
“The judgment of the Supreme Court is sound, clear, and unambiguous. The issue lies elsewhere.
The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, recognizing that the police is the end user of this recruitment, did not exclude the police from participating in the recruitment exercise into the police force,” he said.
He reiterated his commitment to ensuring that only qualified individuals are recruited into the police force.
“The Inspector General Police of Nigeria leads the largest police force in Africa. Over 300,000 officers and men look up to him for guidance and leadership. He cannot sit down and look on and see how recruitment into the police force is anyhow. He cannot afford to disappoint the officers and men that he is leading. He has to ensure quality recruitment into the police,” Egbetokun added.
Egbetokun emphasized that the police’s participation in the recruitment process is essential for maintaining the force’s standards and preventing future issues.
“The problems we are having with the police now start with the recruitment. If we don’t pay attention to recruitment, a disaster is awaiting us. We can’t sit here as members of the force management team and allow that to happen,” he said.
He assured that there is no conflict between the police and the PSC, stating, “The police will play their role. The Police Service Commission will play its role. We recognize the power of the Commission to recruit for the police. We respect that power. What we are doing is not prejudiced against the powers of the Police Service Commission to recruit for the police. So we are not fighting anybody. We are not fighting.”
Regarding calls for his removal, Egbetokun remained unfazed, saying, “I won’t respond to a call for my removal. Anybody can call for my removal. Anybody who doesn’t like me can come out tomorrow and say, remove the IG. That’s not a problem. We are all entitled to our opinion.”
In addressing the ongoing crisis in Rivers State related to the extension of Local Government Chairmen’s tenure, Egbetokun mentioned that the police would lift the barricade after the court’s verdict.
“You are all aware that in what happened three days ago, we lost a police inspector. We are sad about that. We don’t want to lose more men. We don’t want to lose more Nigerians. We don’t want to lose more citizens of Rivers State. So we have a duty to prevent the breakdown of law and order. And that’s why we have our men taking over the secretariat while we await the outcome of the case in court. As soon as the court makes its pronouncement, we will remove the barricade. Thank you.”
