The recruitment exercise into the constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force is going on smoothly in a majority of states, but applicants, particularly those in some states in the south-south and south eastern parts of the country are experiencing multiple challenges.
Applicants had been directed to go to their states of origin for the screening exercise, which is leading to many of them getting rejected at screening centres because they apparently showed up in the wrong states.
And in some southeast states, applicants are finding it difficult to get suitable guarantors because the ranks of the Nigeria Police have largely been depleted of officers from the region.
And while the turnout in a number of states have been impressive with thousands of applicants seeking to fill the few available slots, there are states experiencing a low turnout of applicants.
The Bayelsa State Police Command, for example, has expressed worry over the low turn up of applicants for the physical screening exercise.
The recruitment screening commenced on Monday, January 8, 2024 at the Police Officers Mess along Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Road in Yenagoa and it is expected to end on Monday, January 29, 2024. The ongoing exercise has already lasted for over one week with a high turnout of applicants who appeared in sparkling white T-shirts and shorts during the first week.
It was, however, observed that the situation was different since on Monday, January 15, 2024. The Police Officers Mess recorded just a few applicants who came out for screening unlike the previous week and the number continues to reduce as the week progresses.
According to the Bayelsa State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Musa Mohammed, the command cannot give the exact number of candidates that have completed their screening since the exercise is still ongoing, adding that the low turnout of applicants has been a challenge for the command.
“Over 1000 candidates have already been screened so far. The challenge we are having is that some persons have not yet come for their screening which is delaying the process. You can also assist us by notifying applicants that are yet to come for the police recruitment screening exercise and they should endeavour to turn up before January 29, 2024,” he said.
A visit to the Police Officers Mess on Thursday showed that there was no applicant at the screening centre. The environment was scanty and the officers conducting the screening exercise were seen sitting idle waiting for eligible applicants to come.
About one hour later, an applicant, Philip Oropadei, who is from Ogobiri in Sagbama local government area of the state arrived in plain clothes. Oropadei who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend after his screening said he lost his phone some time ago and could not have access to his email he was expecting to receive a message from for the screening exercise.
“I don’t have contacts, I don’t get information, that is why I am coming today. If not, it was since on January 11 I could have done this. That was what delayed me. I was lucky I met one of my community boys on Tuesday who told me he has done his own last week; both of us applied together. I went online to check and I confirmed it was true.
“I am glad I have finally done it. When I first arrived, they told me I must put on white top and shorts before I will be attended to. I had to go back to get white and return. I was instructed to photocopy all my documents and put them in separate files, one for the original and one for photocopy. I also snapped passport photograph and attached it together with the documents.
“Then I submitted to the officers in charge. They took measurement of my height, asked me a few questions and gave me some forms to fill. After that, I was asked to go. Now that I am done with this phase, it is my expectation that my name will come out and I will be called up for the exercise,” he said.
For Emmanuel Allison from Olukpobiri in Southern Ijaw local government area who applied since 2022, he has been in the village and only came back to Yenagoa on Monday to know that the screening exercise had already commenced.
“I didn’t get the information on time that was why I came today. I have not even submitted my documents yet, I snapped a passport and wanted to go and collect it from the photographer and then fill the forms they gave to me. It is after submitting everything that I will know the next step.
“To join the Police Force was not what I actually intended to do but there is nothing available I can do for now. Everybody is looking for a way to survive in Nigeria. I will go for the training if my name comes out, I will put in my best. I still want to go back to school, I stopped after my secondary school. I will use my salary and train myself in school if I succeed,” Allison said.
Police Recruitment: Getting Guarantors Poses Challenge For Applicants In Anambra
The major challenge some of those seeking recruitment into the Nigeria Police in Anambra State in the on-going nationwide recruitment exercise is getting police officers in the rank required to stand as guarantors for them.
Though some of them who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend said that they were able to scale the hurdle, they stated that it did not come easily.
They said that only police officers in the rank of a Superintendent of Police (SP), and above were acceptable to sign as guarantors for them, stressing that many of such officers approached turned down their request fearing that they might not be of good behaviour.
For instance, one of the male applicants, Arinze Oyiudo, a native of Awka, in Awka-South local government area told LEADERSHIP Weekend at the conference hall of the state police command headquarters, Amawbia where the recruitment exercise in the state is being conducted that some police officers he earlier approached to sign as guarantors for him turned down his request.
“We were told that two police officers from the rank of SP (Superintendent of Police) and above are the ones to sign as guarantors for us. But some of them would not agree to sign for us when we went to them. But, I have gotten two officers who signed for me,” he said.
He, however, said that apart from getting the guarantors, other requirements the recruitment team asked from him included his National Identity Number (NIN); birth certificate, medical fitness report, secondary school certificate (WAEC or NECO), local government identification letter, adding that they also checked his height.
Miss Ubadiah Karima, a native of Nzam in Anambra-West local government area of the state said that though she was able to get two senior police officers who signed as guarantors for her, she did not get the officers easily as not everyone agreed to sign when she approached them.
She, however, stated that neither the police officers who refused to sign for her nor the ones who eventually signed for her demanded any financial gratification or any other special favour from her as a ground for either rejecting or accepting the request.
Screening Of Police Recruits Ongoing In Rivers
The physical/credentials screening exercise of recruits into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Rivers State, which began on January 8, 2024 will end on January 29, 2024.
The exercise is being held at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, which is beside the state Police headquarters, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, some of the applicants who had already been screened described the exercise as tedious.
They said only those from Rivers State participated in the exercise as there was a directive from the force headquarters that all applicants must go to their respective states for the exercise.
One of them said, “I applied for the Police job in Asaba, Delta State, but was directed to come to Port Harcourt for the screening exercise because I am from Rivers State.
“We were coming on a daily basis from 8am and would stay until about 4pm. If you were unlucky to get screened on a day, you return the following day.
“During the exercise, they requested for evidence of physical/mental fitness from a government-recognised medical hospital, evidence of good character from a village/district head of an applicant, original and duplicate copies of the certificate of origin duly signed by the local government chairman or secretary amongst other documents.”
Also speaking to our correspondent, another applicant who would want his name mentioned lamented that many of them who did not have relatives living in Port Harcourt had to sleep at the venue of the exercise for days.
“For me and several others, we slept at the civic centre because we have no relatives to put up with in Port Harcourt. I came from Ibadan and that is where my parents live. We didn’t have money to pay for hotel accommodation. But, I believe that all our sufferings will not be in vain,” he said.
Exercise Hitch-Free In Akwa Ibom
The recruitment which is expected to end on January 29 has been smooth and hitch-free with no fewer than 6,000 already screened in Akwa Ibom State, checks by LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed.
Apart from the influx of applicants which the police operatives have had a hectic time controlling in order to avoid stampede, the exercise holding at the state headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, near Uyo, the state capital was conducted smoothly as only applicants captured in the Police recruitment portal were screened and cleared to undergo the regimental exercise.
“The exercise is smooth and orderly, the only hitch is spending some days for your turn to be called out to undergo the process,” Aniekan Bassey, one of the applicants said.
“We have not recorded any casualty so far as a result of the exercise because we prepared ourselves for the job,” Enobobong Bassey, another applicant added.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Odiko MacDon, explained that the recruitment guidelines as stipulated by the Police Service Commission (PSC), Federal Character Commission (FCC) and other relevant agencies have been strictly followed.
Checks at the Police Officers’ Mess, along Factory Road, Umuahia, the venue of the exercise indicated that out of the 2,110 applicants, about 1,400 had already been screened and uploaded.
Further inquiries revealed that while three applicants from other states who turned up were referred to their home states, two were referred from others to the state for the exercise.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, three of the screened applicants, one female and two males, who refused to disclose their names said the exercise was smooth and orderly.
One of the male applicants said he “came down all the way from the North” adding that it took him less than 40 minutes “to get through with the process.”
The exercise was being conducted under the watchful eyes of staff of the Federal Character Commission and the Police Service Commission.
Despite Insurgency, Police Receives 24,851 Applicants For Recruitment In Borno
Despite the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency in Borno, the state Police Command said it is screening 24,851 applicants from the 27 local government areas of the state.
LEADERSHIP Weekend reports that at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency, policemen in their numbers paid the supreme price of the crisis as the terrorists targeted them and other security agents in various areas of the state.
The state’s Police Command headquarters and its annex are witnessing a beehive of activities as the applicants in their numbers thronged in to be screened by the officials responsible for the exercise.
An applicant from the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Abu Mohammed expressed optimism that he would meet up with the recruitment considering the impartial mode of the screening he has witnessed despite the numerous applicants.
He said his main aim of enrolling into the Nigeria Police Force is to contribute his quota in tackling insecurity which has held the state back for long.
Similarly, Abubakar Shani, a candidate from the Shani local government area of the state which is in the southern part of the state corroborated his fellow applicant over the mode of the screening which he described as free and fair.
Speaking on the exercise, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Daso Nahum said the state received overwhelming applications describing it as a good thing for the state.
The PPRO said the exercise would have been a herculean task if not for other bodies such as adhoc staff, representatives of the state government, delegation from the Federal Character Commission, among others, who were assisting in the physical and credential screening of the applicants.
He said over 300 applicants were recruited in the last exercise and expressed hope that the number of applicants to be recruited this year might surpass that of last year considering the great number of the applicants.
Delta Applicants Face Accommodation Problem
The ongoing screening for recruitment into the force as police constables started at the Delta State command in Asaba on January 8 and will end on January 29, 2024.
Applicants who said they were warned not to speak to the press maintained closed lips but confided outside the screening ground that they printed out their invitation slips and came for screening at 7am daily at the Cenotaph Parade Ground, Asaba on their scheduled date as indicated in their printout.
They maintained that the environment calls for serious discipline to avoid being sanctioned. Hence, they heeded the instruction to appear in their white T-shirts and shorts, armed with two white flat files with recent passport photographs, evidence of physical/mental fitness from a government-recognised medical hospital and evidence of good character from the village/district head of the applicant.
Others are certificate of origin duly signed by the local government chairman or Secretary, and National Identity Number (NIN) Slip Print-out, original and duplicate copies of credentials, O’ level result(s), birth certificate/declaration of age, print-out of application form, duly completed guarantor’s form and invitation slip.
According to them, some candidates who failed to present some of the items were not considered for screening. Another candidate who hails from Rivers State was not screened but asked to go to Port Harcourt for his screening.
Generally, they agreed that the screening and physical exercise have not been too strenuous, except that some of them who came from far away local government areas faced accommodation challenges.
While ruling out godfathers’ factor and optimism of admission having qualified in all the areas, especially height measurement and medical reports, they revealed that the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Wale Abass further encouraged them to be wary of online impostors, fraudsters and other criminal elements who might want to take advantage of the recruitment process to swindle innocent applicants.
“They told us that the entire exercise will be conducted in line with the professional guidelines of the force and it is completely free,” the applicant revealed.
