Mass Retirement Looms in Nigeria Police Force, Over 150,000 to go Between 2026 and 2028.
By Felix Mordi
The saying that, if one fails to plan, he is apparently planning to fail, perhaps is the reason the federal government is addressing the manpower issue of the Police with all seriousness by resorting to a yearly recruitment of 50,000 personnel into the Force, beginning from 2025.
A good initiative though, but a fire brigade approach characteristical of us in this clime, in that this phenomenal concern ought to have begun much more earlier than now.
It is public knowledge that the staff strength of the Nigeria Police shorts fall of the United Nations (UNs) defined standards of one operative to 400 citizens, with its total manpower of less than 500,000, to police a country of about 220 million citizens, out of which about 17.000 personnel, until recently, served as guards to very important personalities (VIPs).
Thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who, thinking out of the box, equipped himself with facts and figure concerning the nation’s leading law enforcement agency, and realized the security implications of having that number of personnel serving outside of their initial and normal purpose of engagement – protection of lives and property of the larger society – and considering it as absurd, ordered their immediate withdrawal.
The president, no doubt, like every other citizens of the country, knows that the Nigeria Police is short of manpower and came up with the idea to shore up its strength by the 50,000 yearly recruitment exercise.
The most shocking development about to be experienced is the gale of mass retirement of approximately 150,000 officers, having attained the statutory 35 years in service or 60 years of age. This will span three years, starting from 2026, probably the reason the Commander-In-Chief (C-in-C), in order not to create a lacuna, thought of jerking up the recruitment figure.
This is a reflection of the visionary leadership of the then Inspector-General of Police, who sought and got the approval of the federal government to recruit massively into the system between 1991 and 1993.
However, for a period of five years thereafter, precisely between 1994 and 1998, the president then wielded his execution power to place embargo on recruitment, until 1999, when another fresh recruitment commenced.
It is, however, instructive to submit that, had there not been placement of embargo on recruitment in those five years, there would not have been much ado about manpower shortage in the Police Force, even though below the UN standards. The shortage would not have been as visibly pronounced as what the country is currently contending with.
Agreed that the 50,000 yearly recruitment, and call for retired officers to avail themselves as volunteers is envisaged as a replacement for the 150,000 personnel that are expected to disengage from the service in the next three years, the fact remains that the Police is much more understaffed.
It is, however, suggestive that, as a proactive measure, rather than allow the entire about 150,000 officers due for retirement in the next three years to go on grounds of attaining the mandatory 35 years or 60 years of age, the president could use the same executive power, used to place embargo on recruitment then, to extend their services by five years, more so that the country is faced with serious security challenges.
There is no doubting the fact that all the about 150,000 personnel, penciled for retirement, could be fit to continue servicing the nation, as some are likely to be physically and mentally unstable. Such officers with known debilities like permanent deformities could be made to retire, while those that are still very sound are retained to reshape the system by impacting their age-long garnered experiences, professional acumen and integrity on the new intakes.
Meanwhile, findings revealed that some of these officers are within the range of 55 -56 years, having enlisted at the young ages of 20 to 22, which makes them still very strong and energetic.
This will obviously go a long way in addressing the manpower shortage in the Nigeria Police Force.
