Police recruitment trainees resume despite court order
Despite an Abuja High Court ruling, ordering the Nigerian Police and the Police Service Commission (PSC) to stay action on the recruitment exercise pending the determination of the suit filed by PSC challenging the conduct of the training exercise which it said amounted to usurpation of its constitutional powers, the 10,000 constables recruited by the Nigerian Police have reported for training in the 18 police training colleges across the country.
The Nigerian Police last weekend released the list of successful candidates in defiance of the court order and instructed them to report for training Monday or forfeit their admission. Huhuonline.com gathered that some of the recruits were charged N11,000 for training kits in spite of the fact that money for the training was already budgeted for.
Some trainees in one of the colleges in the South-east and North-central, told reporters on condition of anonymity, that they were charged N11,000 for training kits. “In our college they asked us to pay N11,000 for iron bucket, lamp, plates and cutlass with passport. They said without the money, they won’t let us into hostel”, a trainee said.
Another recruit said “a lot of people are seriously paying the money and obtaining their hostel at the same time and some people are just outside. “They refused to let us in. I called my grandparents and they said they don’t have money. I am just outside. I don’t even have an option”.
A police source confided to Huhuonline.com that such charges were illegal and dubious. “The training is budgeted for. There is a provision for training at any given time. Those charging them for training are engaging in an act of criminality”.
The police spokesman and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Frank Mba, was not available for comments as calls and text messages sent to his phone were not replied.
