There are strong indications that the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari in the controversy trailing the recruitment of some 10,000 constables for community policing ordered by the President has failed to douse the rising inferno as the daggers remained drawn between the Police force and the Police Service Commission (PSC), Huhuonline.com has learnt from authoritative Aso Rock sources, who disclosed that the president is so furious that he is already contemplating firing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.
Sources told Huhuonline.com that Buhari’s decision to personally intervene in the controversy was to mitigate the negative publicity and embarrassment the public war of attrition was already causing his administration. “The Chief of Staff to the President has written to them. The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice has also written to them. So, I don’t know why they (PSC and IGP) are still fighting,” one source noted in exasperation, saying heads will roll if the warring factions don’t retrace their steps.
The PSC and the police have engaged in a protracted public shouting match over the recruitment, in which the commission has accused the IGP of sidelining it and usurping its powers. The PSC has also described the list of candidates, released by the IGP as lopsided and in violation of the federal character principle. The feud deepened after Borno and Bauchi States petitioned the PSC that they were short-changed in the recruitment while some other states have also indicated intention to challenge the list.
The recruitment, which was supposed to be based on the equality of local governments in view of the fact that it was for community policing was lopsided. A breakdown of the controversial list showed that Nasarawa State, home state of the IGP and the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Training, Yakubu Jibrin, topped the list with 528 candidates with an average of 41 per local government instead of 12 per local government. Nasarawa State has 13 local Government Areas. PSC sources also confided to Huhuonline.com that 247 of the 538 candidates recruited from Nasarawa State did not even bother to apply for the job but were illegally included in the list.
“You can see from such numbers that the recruitment process was a sham and this tells you why the DIG Training who was queried by PSC; and rather than answer the query, he went to court against the PSC. An employer has the right to query his employee, it is a call to explanation and you are required to exhaust all internal procedures before you can take your employer to court. But he didn’t even answer the query,” the Aso Rock source noted in frustration.
A police source told Huhuonline.com that the presidential intervention might have been responsible for the damage control by the police, which, in a volte-face, disowned the list of recruits it had earlier released. “The IGP cannot claim he did not sanction the release of the list. When the list for medical was released, PSC disowned it and queried the DIG Training. The man refused to answer the query; rather the IGP wrote them to say the DIG Training acted under his instruction. So, now, on whose instruction was the IGP working? What is not in doubt is that all those involved will face disciplinary action and may end up being dismissed from the police force,” the source said.
Apparently bowing to pressure, the police, in a statement posted on its twitter handle, said the list of successful recruits would now be released after the IG’s vetting and approval. “The members of the general public, particularly candidates who participated in the on-going recruitment exercise by the @PoliceNG are hereby advised to note that the final list of successful candidates will be released only after the receipt of the Recruitment Report and final vetting of the list by the Inspector General of Police.
“Currently, the Inspector General of Police, IG Mohammed Adamu NPM, mni, is out of the country on an official assignment and has not received the final report of the exercise containing list of successful candidates for the police constable’s recruitment.” it tweeted.
It said: “Candidates who participated in the recruitment process are advised to exercise patience as the final and authenticated list of successful candidates, including the date of resumption for training will be officially released and widely announced in both print, electronic and social media platforms in line with the established police processes as soon as the Inspector General of Police returns, formally receives the recruitment report, vets, and grants requisite approval.”
Before the new tweet, an earlier tweet @2019NPFRecruits had debunked rumors that the controversial list was cancelled and directed the successful candidates to proceed to the 18 police colleges across the country for training. “There is a rumor circulating that the list has been cancelled. This is to inform you that no list is cancelled. You are to proceed accordingly for your documentation between 21-25 /10/2019. Arrangements have been made for your arrival in all police training institutions,” it said.
The PSC Chairman and a retired Inspector General of Police, Musiliu Smith, had reportedly written to the Chief of Staff to the president, Abba Kyari, explaining why the PSC went to court. Smith had in a letter dated October 16, 2019, said the Nigerian Police usurped the powers conferred by law on the PSC by taking over the recruitment. He said the final list of candidates was released in spite of the fact that the IG was served court papers on the matter.
Aso Rock sources confided to Huhuonline.com that the police force has moved from damage control to damage limitation; which underscores the panic and confusion as President Buhari prepares to read the riot act “There is strong belief that the statement by the police was a panicky measure. The presidency has frowned on that list. The contradictory statement was the first formal explanation by the police since this problem started and they issued it on a Saturday for that matter.”
