The Chairman, Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande, at a news briefing in Abuja on Thursday, disclosed that the commission promoted 6,973 policemen this year while it has also revisited the promotion of 140 officers which he said did not follow due process.
“ We have resolved that promotions in the Nigeria Police Force will be based on successful performance in promotion examination, merit, seniority and availability of establishment vacancy.
“The commission, within the year ,approved the promotion of 6,973 police officers while mass promotion has been abolished in the force,” he said. Osayande explained that the need to purge the Force of its rot necessitated the recruitment of 53 imams and chaplains.
Osayande further disclosed that members of the commission had visited 24 out of the 37 police commands, while also warning that policemen involved in extra-judicial killings would be made to answer for their actions.
According to him, “during the tours, the commission met officers and men in their work environment with the aim of identifying their problems and fashioning out ways of resolving them.
“It also delivered the message of the new order to officers, rank and file of the police force. “The message was that policing would henceforth be people-friendly while the police would operate in accordance with the rule of law; that there should be an end to extra-judicial killings, rape, unlawful exercise of authority, incivility, leadership failure and corruption.”
Osayande, who stressed that the menace of extra-judicial killings had reduced, attributed its recurrence to lack of training on the part of the policemen. The commission, he said, was also worried about the level of fitness of several policemen, saying that it was disgusting to see many officers with bloated stomach along the streets.
“I retired as a DIG and up till now I don’t have that king of stomach. I think the problem is that many of them don’t do enough recreational and that is what i have discussed with the Inspector General of Police (Mr. Ogbonna Onovo). I am sure he is doing something in that regard,” he added.

Nigerian Tribune, Chris Agbambu, Abuja - 19.12.2009