The steering committee on the establishment of the state police has said its approach to the transition of the Nigeria Police Force officers will be guided by six non-negotiable principles. 

The committee, chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, made the suggestion in a report made available on Friday in Abuja.

The committee, inaugurated by the inspector-general of police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, said no police officer would lose employment as a result of the establishment of the State Police Service (SPS).

The committee said the transition from the Federal Police Service (FPS) to SPS would not lead to the involuntary dismissal of officers.

“No officer shall be involuntarily dismissed or lose their employment as a direct result of the establishment of SPS, except in the ordinary course of disciplinary or retirement processes.

“All officers’ accrued rights to salary, pension, benefits, and service recognition shall be fully protected throughout the transition, regardless of which service they ultimately serve in,” it said.

It suggested that the transition has been designed as an expansion of the overall policing establishment, not a reduction, adding that the creation of SPS would result in more police officers serving Nigeria.

The committee said officers would be empowered by choice, adding that the primary mechanism for distributing officers between FPS and SPS would be voluntary self-selection, not compulsory reassignment.

According to the report, officers’ professional identities and institutional pride will be respected throughout the process.

The committee said that the transition will be communicated as an evolution and enhancement of Nigerian policing, not a demotion or dissolution of the FPS.

It said all transition processes would be publicly communicated and that officers would receive full and timely information about their options.

The committee said the I-G would maintain a dedicated transition communications channel for all officers, irrespective of ranks.

It said the current 273,648 officers of the FPS would be classified into five categories: I-G to AIG, CP to ACP, CSP to ASP, Insp. to rank and files, and civilian staff.

It further said those in the category of I-G to AIG would be at the national command level and would remain in FPS to provide transition leadership or a secondment option to NPSB or FCPCC.

It said those in category CP to ACP would be at state, zonal and formation levels with the option to remain in FPS for national or zonal roles or transfer to lead SPS as inaugural commissioners.

According to the report, those in the categories of CSP and ASP, operational and administrative officers, would have the option to remain in FPS or transfer to the SPS commissioned officers’ cadre with rank recognised.

The committee said those in the inspector and rank-and-file categories were the middle supervisory cadre, frontline operational officers and non-sworn FPS support personnel.

It said those in the category would have the option to remain in FPS or transfer to an equivalent police rank, offered a home-state transfer option and also be eligible for new state police recruitment.

The committee said those in the civilian category and administrative, technical and support personnel would have the option to remain in FPS or transfer to an equivalent state police administrative role, with no compulsory redeployment.

It added that the classification exercise would be completed within the first six months of the preparation phase, months one to six.

It said the FPS would retain 40 per cent of officers to perform federal duties, while 60 per cent would be ceded to the SPS. 

(NAN)