A fresh row has erupted within Nigeria’s policing institutions as the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs and the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil have rejected a disclaimer issued by the Police Service Commission (PSC) over admissions into the academy’s degree programmes.
On July 31, the PSC publicly disowned an advertisement released by the Police Academy, which called for applications into the 12th Regular Course Degree Programmes of the Nigeria Police Force. The PSC declared the advert unauthorized, claiming it violated due process and undermined its constitutional mandate to appoint persons into the Police Force—a role it says has been upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
But the Ministry of Police Affairs fired back on Friday, describing the PSC’s claims as inaccurate and misleading. In a statement signed by Bolaji Kazeem, Director of Information and Public Relations, the ministry asserted that the admission process is valid, ongoing, and legally grounded.
According to the ministry, the Police Academy’s degree admissions are conducted in accordance with the standards of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs. It stressed that PSC has no legal authority over university admissions, which fall outside the scope of its mandate.
“The attention of the Nigeria Police Academy and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs has been drawn to a misleading disclaimer issued by the Police Service Commission on July 31,” the statement read. “The PSC disclaimer is therefore legally baseless and misleading.”
The ministry also urged prospective applicants and the general public to disregard the PSC’s notice, assuring that the online application portal remains open and that all procedures are being followed appropriately.
The clash underscores long-running institutional turf wars between the PSC and other stakeholders over recruitment and appointment powers within the Nigeria Police ecosystem.