By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Police Service Commission (PSC), has taken practical steps to entrench federal character principles, and gender parity, in the recruitment, promotion and deployment of officers and men of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
The Commission also, frowned at the current redeployment of senior police officers, which unfavoured southeast and northeast.
PSC, in a statement on Sunday, announced the approval of the new policy guidelines for deployment of management and tactical commanders in the Nigeria Police Force, and the imperativeness for gender-senstivity in the deployment of Assistant Inspectors- General of Police and Commissioners of Police to Zonal and State Command Headquarters.
Signed by the Spokesperson of the Commission, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, the statement, disclosed that the commission considered and approved the policy guidelines at its 21st plenary meeting, which, held at its Corporate Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
The Commission charged the Nigeria Police Force to be guided by the principle of Federal Character in both recruitment (at all levels) and deployment of its personnel at management and tactical levels to ensure balance, equity and fairness in the system.
Mr. Ani, observed that the current deployment of Commissioners of Police to State Commands leaves much to be desired in reflecting the principle of equity and fairness to all geo-political zones of the country, stressing that the current statistics of such deployments was against the North East and South East geopolitical zones.
The Commission, said, it has become extremely important that a fair representation of all geo-political zones is always reflected in these deployments to eschew and address the feeling and sense of marginalisation and injustice by certain zones of the country in the Nigeria Police Force.
The Commission relied on the power bestowed on by Section 6(e) and (7) of the Police Service Commission to ‘formulate and implement policies aimed at the efficiency and discipline in the Nigeria Police Force; and perform such other functions which in the opinion of the Commission are required to ensure the optimal efficiency of the Nigeria Police Force considered and approved the new policy guidelines.
“Henceforth request for deployment of Commissioners of Police to State Commands must ensure that the disadvantaged zones are considered first in the proposals to the Commission in order to redress the present imbalance and lopsided deployments skewed against the North-East and South-East regions of the country. All geo-political zones of the country must now have at least 15 percent representation in the deployment of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to Zones, Commissioners of Police to State Commands and posting of Commanding Officers of Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism CTU and Special Protection Unit (SPU).
That all Police deployments to zones and Commands at both Management (Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police and Tactical levels (Commanding Officers of PMF/SPU/CTU, must recognise our heterogeneity and reflect fairness and equity in terms of ethnicity and religion,” the statement said.
The Commission, however, advised the Inspector General of Police to be guided appropriately by this policy guidelines founded on principles of fairness and justice to all members of the NPF.
On the imperativeness of gender-senstivity in the deployment of AIGs and CPs, the Commission, said, the continued practice of lopsided deployments of only male Police Officers to Zones and Commands with no fair consideration and representation of female Police Officers who are qualified for such positions should be discouraged.
