The Police Service Commission (PSC) has co-opted the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) to participate in the screening of 50,000 applicants in what authorities described as the largest single recruitment exercise in the history of the Nigeria Police Force.
The decision was announced during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by the commission in Abuja as part of preparations for the physical and credentials screening stage of the exercise scheduled to commence on March 9, 2026 across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Chairman of the PSC, Hashimu Argungu, who presided over the meeting, commended the PCRC for its longstanding commitment to supporting national security and community policing initiatives.
Argungu said the commission was determined to ensure that only credible and qualified Nigerians are recruited into the police.
“The Commission is resolutely poised to ensure that only the finest and most credible Nigerians wear the uniform of a Police Constable. An effective Police Force is built on the quality of its recruitment,” he said.
He charged PCRC state chairmen to work closely with PSC officials, state employment and career departments, as well as the State Intelligence Department of the police to scrutinise applicants.
According to him, the committee will help verify applicants’ indigene-ship and character to prevent individuals with questionable backgrounds from gaining entry into the force.
“You are the eyes and ears of the community. Help us maintain the credibility of this exercise in your states and be good ambassadors of this process, even on the field,” Argungu added.
Responding on behalf of the PCRC National Chairman, Ibraheem Olaniyan, the Deputy National President (North), Wada Sadiq, expressed appreciation to the PSC for the confidence reposed in the committee.
He pledged the PCRC’s full support in ensuring that only credible candidates are recruited into the police.
“We understand the weight of this responsibility, and we assure the Commission and the nation that we will justify the confidence reposed in us. We will be vigilant,” Sadiq said.
The meeting was attended by PCRC state chairmen from across the federation and the FCT, as well as zonal coordinators.
Members of the PSC board present included Paul Adamu Galumje, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and commissioner representing the judiciary, and Taiwo Lakanu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police and chairman of the PSC Standing Committee on Police Matters.
