Court Nullifies Recruitment of 10,000 Police Constables by IGP

The hiring of 10,000 constables by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) this year may have suffered a setback going by a Court of Appeal judgment on Wednesday.

The new recruits were screened between August 24 and September 6 in various locations ahead of training.

But in the judgment on Wednesday, the Abuja Division of the appellate court voided last year’s exercise in which 10,000 were hired under the IGP’s supervision.

The Police Service Commission (PSC) had sued at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the IGP’s powers to recruit constables.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, on December 2, 2019, dismissed the suit, but the PSC appealed.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday allowed PSC’s appeal and set aside Justice Ekwo’s verdict.

A three-man panel, presided over by Justice Peter Ige, unanimously held that the IGP lacked the power to recruit the constables.