By Dele Ogbodo
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Alh. Musiliu Smith, says the commission is not comfortable with the current image of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF),
an institution that has continued to receive a lot of bashing from the public, even as he acknowledged that the Police has been at the receiving end of bashing from Nigerians.
To enhance the image of the NPF, he disclosed that the commission will soon hold a retreat to set an agenda for its work, adding: “the Nigeria Police is getting a lot of bashing; we are aware of our responsibility to sanitize the place and we are going to ensure that recruitment and promotion will henceforth be based on established rules and majorly on competence.”
Ikechukwu Ani, the commission’s spokesman quoted Smith in a just concluded event in Abuja, when he played host to a delegation from the West African Conflict and Security Team (WACST) from the British High Commission and United States Embassy in Nigeria.
According to him, PSC will not hesitate to flush out any Police man found to be undisciplined and incompetent; stressing that recruitment and promotion in the Force will now be based on competence.
The Chairman disclosed that the commission will soon hold a retreat to set an agenda for its work, adding: “the Nigeria Police is getting a lot of bashing; we are aware of our responsibility to sanitize the place and we are going to ensure that recruitment and promotion will henceforth be based on established rules and majorly on competence.
Smith said the commission will give Nigerians a disciplined Force, a Force they will be proud of and one that will work within the dictates of the law and established rules and regulations. He said the Commission is aware of the huge responsibilities before it and is prepared to make a success of the challenges.
“We have a very good team, we are focused, we are already discussing on solutions and best ways to improve the police and ensure obedience to law and order. We will maintain close and cordial relationship with your Team, the Chairman told the visitors.
He requested for assistance from the delegation in the area of building a PSC data base so that the commission will have a reliable data base to manage the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. He also requested for assistance during the Commission’s Retreat.
The delegation from the West African Conflict and Security Team were represented by Katrina Aitken-Laird, Security and Justice Adviser, British High Commission and Michael Bonner, Senior Police Advisor, United States Embassy.
They pledged their support to the Commission in the areas of institutional reforms in the Police, community policing and capacity building, the statement added.