The Police Service Commission (PSC) has enlisted members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) to serve as community watchdogs in the screening process for the recruitment of 50,000 constables into the Nigeria Police Force.
The move was announced during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by the PSC in Abuja, ahead of the commencement of the physical and credentials screening exercise scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026.
The screening will take place simultaneously at designated centres across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Chairman of the PSC, Hashimu Argungu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, said the collaboration with the PCRC was aimed at ensuring transparency, credibility and public confidence in what he described as the largest single recruitment exercise in the history of the police force.
Argungu commended the PCRC for its longstanding commitment to national security and community policing, noting that the organisation had often supported security initiatives through personal sacrifices and community engagement.
“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 urged 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 stakeholders are expected to verify the indigene status and character of candidates to prevent individuals with questionable backgrounds from entering the police 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,” Argungu added.
Responding on behalf of the PCRC National Chairman, Ibraheem Olaniyan, the Deputy National President (North) of the committee, Wada Sadiq, thanked the PSC for the confidence reposed in the organisation.
Sadiq pledged the committee’s full cooperation in ensuring that only credible and qualified Nigerians are selected into the police force.
“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,” he said.
According to the Head, Protocol and Public Affairs of the Commission, Torty Njoku Kalu, the meeting was attended by PCRC state chairmen from across the country, zonal coordinators and members of the PSC board, including Paul Adamu Galumje, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court representing the judiciary on the commission, and Taiwo Lakanu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police and chairman of the PSC Standing Committee on Police Matters.
The PSC said the partnership with community stakeholders is part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in police recruitment.
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