The Police Service Commission’s (PSC) last plenary session for 2019 is expected to hold on Wednesday to approve the promotion of about 43 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) to the next rank of Commissioners of Police (CPs) and 67 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) to the next rank of Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs).

Similarly, about 176 Chief Superintendent of Police (CSPs) are said to have also been recommended for promotion to the rank of ACPs.

Daily Independent exclusively reported on November 14 that 35 DCPs were recommended by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to the PSC for promotion.

We also reported that about 40 ACPs were subsequently recommended by the IGP for promotion to DCPs.

However, we reliably learnt last week that the IGP had increased the figure of DCPs to 43 and ACPs to 67.

A source at Force Headquarters, Abuja hinted over the weekend that “the figures might increase after the commission screens the list. It (commission) may add some names that are due and qualified but were omitted”.

Chairman of PSC, retired IGP Musiliu Smith, had on assumption of office last year told the IGP that his commission would only promote officers who attended courses and passed.

He stressed that even if the IGP recommended any officer and records showed that such officer had not attended a promotional course, such officer recommended will not be promoted, a source at PSC told Daily Independent.

“Since we came on board, no special promotion and we will maintain that status quo,” the source said.

He continued: “We, however, learnt that those who have passed promotional courses but were not recommended for either due to sentiments or ethnic imbalance and have no disciplinary actions against them would be promoted.”

Investigations by Daily Independent reveal that apart from promotion issue, the commission would screen files of officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to the rank of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIG).

Dependable sources at FHQ and at PSC confirmed that “such officers are those who have disciplinary cases pending against them”.

Daily Independent also learnt that some of them who have grievous cases could be given compulsory retirement, while some would be demoted and others would be reprimanded.

A dependable source at the PSC in Abuja told Daily Independent on phone that “we have received the list but we are expecting a supplementary list from the IGP”.

Last month, the IGP decorated the 13 newly promoted CPs with their new ranks of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) in Abuja.

It was learnt that with the promotion of 13 CPs and about 14 CPs scheduled to retire next year, there are vacancies for the rank of CPs.

Given the large number of CPs to be promoted, some states like Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Delta, and three other states may get two CPs. This is because some CPs would be redundant, a source at FHQ hinted.

•Text (excluding headline) courtesy of Daily Independent.

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