PRESS RELEASE
The attention of the Police Service Commission has been drawn to Publications in Pages 47,16 and 42 of The Punch, Thisday and Daily Trust Newspapers of 3rd August, 2010 respectively purporting to have Suspended the on – going recruitment exercises of Police Constables being embarked upon by the Police Service Commission .
2. For the avoidance of doubt and clarity, it is the Police Service Commission that is mandated by law to recruit, promote and discipline persons from the rank of Constable to the post of Deputy Inspector General of Police in the Nigeria Police Force as spelt out by Sections 6 (1) a – g of the Police Service Commission Establishment Act 2001. The section is as follows:
“A’’ The Commission shall be responsible for the Appointment and Promotion of persons to offices (other than the office of the Inspector General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force”
Whereas Section 6 (2) stipulates that “the Commission shall not be subjected to the direction, Control or Supervision of any other authority or persons in the performance of its function other than as is prescribed in this Act.”
3. The Police Service Commission was established pursuant to Section 153 (1) (M) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is necessary to state at this juncture that
“Section 30, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides as follows “the Commission shall have power to - (a) Appoint persons to the offices (other than office of the Inspector General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force and (b) Dismiss and exercise Disciplinary control over persons holding any office referred to in Sub – Paragraph (a) of this Paragraph”.
It is therefore apparently clear that the Commission is a creation of law and it is not subject to the whims and Caprices of any individual.
4. The Police Service Commission in order to conduct a transparent and corruption - free Recruitment Exercise that would not be vitiated by sharp practices as was the case in similar exercises in the recent past, set up a Police Recruitment Board made up of Officials of the Police Service Commission, the top hierarchy of the Nigeria Police Force and representatives of the Federal Character Commission.
5. For the records, the purported Publications in the three mentioned Newspapers suspending the on–going Police Recruitment Exercises should be ignored and discarded as it lacks merit.
Furthermore, the Commission wishes to state that there was never a time the Police Service Commission had any altercation or disagreement of any sort with the leadership of the Nigeria Police over the Police Recruitment Exercises.From the onset, the Police Leadership had been active participants in the effort to employ the right type of manpower for it.
6. We therefore, wish to use this Medium to inform the General Public and especially, all interested applicants that the above mentioned Publications by the Ministry of Police Affairs is a nullity and of no effect what so ever.
All prospective Applicants are advised to continue with the Exercise.

FERDINAND U. EKPE
Chief Information Officer
For: Honorable Chairman.