The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, says the dispute between the Police Service Commission and the Police hierarchy over who should recruit policemen into the Force has been resolved.
Baba disclosed this while addressing officers and men of the Niger State Police Command in Minna on Thursday.
He said now that the dispute was over, recruitment into the Force would commence in earnest.
According to him, between now and 2022, no fewer than 20,000 policemen will be engaged in the Force to boost its manpower.
He said: “Our problem with the Police Service Commission on who recruits is over.
“The recruitment, which we started in 2020, will be completed soon.”
The IGP disclosed that training and retraining of officers and men of the Force would now be given top priority, adding that Police Colleges would now be made more functional as the trainees in the colleges “will now eat and sleep there”.
He also said he is a member of a National Committee looking into the accommodation of policemen, pointing out that the committee had decided that not less than 1,500 houses were to be provided for policemen between now and 2021.
Baba also revealed that a committee was presently reviewing police pensions and welfare of officers and men, adding: “We will work on our emoluments and pensions; we will work on our logistics.
“There will be a change.
“We will give you uniforms, which you were not getting before.
“Officers will buy uniforms, rank, and file will also get shoes and berets.”
Baba, however, urged policemen to be very prayerful for all these plans to materialize.
The Inspector-General said the Police Force would continue to work in synergy with other security agencies to deal with the present security challenges facing the country.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to support the efforts of the police by giving them reliable information that could help in apprehending miscreants in the country.
Earlier, while exchanging views with Governor Abubakar Bello during a courtesy visit, the Inspector-General urged parents to encourage their sons and daughters to join the Nigeria Police Force, saying the organisation is an honourable one.
He told the Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Mohammed Ketso, that parents should allow their children to join the Force because the organisation was providing social service in the country.
He also urged state governors to take leadership roles in community policing because the initiative was for young men and women.
Bello in his remarks acknowledged the role being played by the police in crime prevention, especially in curbing banditry and kidnapping in the state.
He promised to always support all the security agencies in the state to enable them to perform optimally.