Attorney-General Abubakar Malami has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the Nigeria Police Force conclude the ongoing recruitment of new constables, dealing a crucial blow to the Police Service Commission that has long asserted constitutional powers over recruitment and regulatory obligations of the police.
The nation’s chief law officer told the president that a history of rivalry between the two organisations exists, but the Force Headquarters should have its way in the disagreement around the latest recruitment exercise, PREMIUM TIMES reported from a presidential memo and administration officials familiar with the matter.
He also recommended an urgent amendment to the Police Act, the Police Service Commission (PSC) Act and the Constitution in order to forestall a repetition of the disgraceful rivalry between both institutions.
The 2020 recruitment exercise would commence by the end of this year.
The legal opinion came as the police force and its regulatory body locked horns over which of either organisation should supervise the recruitment of additional 10,000 constables into the police this year.
The recriminations heightened over the past four weeks, with the commission accusing Inspector-General Muhammad Adamu of tampering with a prepared list of shortlisted candidates.
The Force Headquarters dismissed the commission’s claims as baseless and spurious, saying instead that it has the powers to supervise new intake of constables. It admonished the commission to focus on its regulatory functions.
Tussle
The police received 315,032 applications for the 10,000 openings through an online portal that expired on January 11, 2019.
Following disagreements about shortlisting of candidates, the commission announced a suspension of the exercise altogether in August. It cited its constitutional powers to appoint, promote, transfer and dismiss officers from the police.
Mr Adamu said the commission has legal powers to appoint and regulate officers, but cannot recruit the rank-and-file.
The commission, however, insisted that Mr Adamu’s action would ultimately be rendered useless because it has no legal underpinning. The PSC has regulated appointment, promotion, transfer and dismissal of police officers (except the inspector-general) since its establishment in 2001.
It has, however, clashed with the Force Headquarters over recruitment of constables due to a string of ambiguities in their respective enabling laws.
In 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan deferred recruitment of constables by a year following clashes between the police and the commission over who should supervise the exercise.
