The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, refuted reports that the Police Service Commission and the police were at odds over the just-ended recruitment process.
Additionally, Egbetokun stated that he must guarantee the highest calibre of hiring for the police force in his capacity as Inspector General of Police of the biggest police force in Africa.
The police rejected the commission’s list of successful candidates, citing corruption and other irregularities, in a statement made on Saturday by Force Spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi.
On the same day, Adoyi Adoyi, the head of the Joint Union Congress of the Police Service Commission, responded by refuting the accusations and charging the police with an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle names onto the list that the commission had released.
Adoyi demanded on Wednesday that Egbetokun be fired for falsely accusing the commission.
Egbetokun stated in a meeting with commanders in Abuja, that the police did not object to the ruling by the Supreme Court granting the PSC the right to recruit new members.
Egbetokun pointed out that although the Supreme Court granted the PSC the authority to hire, it did not mandate that the force be kept out of the procedure.
He said, “The wise men sitting at the Supreme Court, while ruling on the controversial and questionable issue surrounding police recruitment, gave the final authority to the police to the Police Service Commission. There is no problem with that.
“The judgement of the Supreme Court is sound, clear, and unambiguous. The issue lies elsewhere. The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, recognising that the police are the end users of this recruitment, did not exclude the police from participating in the recruitment exercise into the police force.
“So it is expected that while recruited into the police force by the commission, the police will be carried along.”
Egbetokun said what he was doing was to ensure the right set of people were recruited into the force.
He said, “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 force.
“And that includes the quality participation of the police in the recruitment exercise. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are doing everything possible to make sure that qualified and capable individuals are recruited into the police force.
“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.
“So there is no fight between the police and the Police Service Commission. The police will play their role. The Police Service Commission will play its role. We recognise 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 there is no fight between the police and the Police Service Commission. The police will play their role. The Police Service Commission will play their role.”
Egbetokun mentioned that the police’s actions did not infringe upon the PSC’s authority to recruit for the police force.
He said, “We recognise 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 have to be careful with the kind of people we recruit into the police. And that’s what we are saying. So we are not fighting anyone. We are not fighting.
“I won’t respond to a call for my remover. Anyone 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.”
Speaking on the Rivers State crisis concerning the extension of the Local Government Chairmen’s tenure, Egbetokun said the barricade mounted would be removed after the court delivers its verdict.
Egbetokun said, “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.”
