The Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) will begin physical and credential screening of applicants in the ongoing recruitment of 50,000 police constables from March 9, 2026.
In a statement issued Tuesday in Abuja, PSC spokesman Torty Njoku Kalu said the exercise would run until April 18 across designated centres in all states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the commission, only candidates who successfully completed the online registration are eligible to participate. Applicants are required to log on to the official recruitment portal, npfapplication.psc.gov.ng, to confirm their status and print specified documents, including the Guarantor’s Form, Application Submission Slip, Invitation Slip, Credential Screening Form and Physical Screening Form.
The commission said candidates must present their invitation slip, original National Identity Number (NIN) printout or card issued by the National Identity Management Commission, O’ Level certificate, birth certificate or declaration of age, and certificate of local government or state of origin. Specialists are also expected to provide trade test certificates where applicable.
Applicants are to appear at screening venues in white T-shirts, white shorts, white canvas shoes and white stockings. They are also required to submit original and duplicate copies of their credentials packaged in two separate white flat files, with recent passport photographs attached.
The PSC chairman, Hashimu Salihu Argungu, reiterated that the recruitment process is free. “The recruitment exercise is absolutely free of charge and without any pecuniary obligation,” he said, adding that the process “will be conducted in the best tradition of transparency and accountability.”
He warned applicants to avoid fraudulent schemes. The chairman advised candidates “to be wary of online impostors, scammers and other criminal elements who might want to take advantage of the recruitment process to defraud innocent applicants,” stating that anyone found culpable “will be arrested and prosecuted.”
The recruitment drive is part of ongoing efforts by the federal government to strengthen police manpower amid persistent security challenges, including insurgency, banditry and violent crime in various parts of the country. The Nigeria Police Force has faced longstanding concerns over personnel shortages relative to Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, with repeated calls for improved capacity and reform.
The outcome of the screening exercise will determine the next phase of the recruitment process, as authorities seek to expand the rank-and-file cadre of the police force nationwide.
