The Police Service Commission (PSC) yesterday said no fewer than 121,596 applicants were screened out from the 161,873 applications received in the ongoing recruitment process of Constables into the police. PSC Standing Committee on Police Matters Chairman Taiwo Lakanu said this at a news conference in Abuja yesterday.

Lakanu said 434,604 applicants were qualified for the next stage of the recruiment process after screening, while 60,674 applications were invalid. He explained that 348,974 applicants applied for General Duty while 85,630 were for Specialist, adding that 442,592 of the applicants were male while 114,640 were female.

He said the figure was a clear demonstration of the continued confidence of Nigerian youths in the police as a career of honour and service.

Lakanu said: “However, I must speak candidly on the issue of state participation. At the early stages of this exercise, we observed wide disparities in application numbers across the federation. “While some states recorded very high participation, others lagged significantly behind.

“In response to this imbalance, the commission, after extensive consultation with the Nigeria Police Force, and other stakeholders approved a two-week extension of the application deadline. “This decision enabled states with low turnout to intensify sensitisation and mobilisation efforts and I am pleased to report that this intervention yielded positive results.”