Nigerians had thereafter expressed displeasure and called on the authorities to be circumspect when recruiting into the police force.
The spokesman of the commission, Ikechukwu Ani, has however defended the decision to recruit the ‘repentant thugs’ in a statement issued in Abuja
Ani in the statement clarified that the “repentant criminals” were recruited as police constabulary because they had realised that crimes do not pay.
“The Commission wishes to state categorically that the Special Constabulary are not Police men and not recognised as such by the Commission and Government,” he said.
“The Commission however notes that the Constabulary operations are covered and recognised by the Police Act and are readily useful and needed now that the nation is fighting to end the siege of criminals across the country.”
Ani said that the Commission is in touch with the Kano State Police Command and is aware that the use of the Constabulary is to support the Police in building a crime free Kano State.
He added that it is necessary to state that the men and women recruited as Special Constabulary are posted to work in their locality where they will be in a better position to fish out the criminals terrorising the place.
According to him, some of the repentant influential youths previously used in the past as political thugs and abandoned have realised that crime does not pay and have voluntarily offered themselves to assist fight for a crime free state.
The Commission is also aware that the Kano Special Constabulary has received adequate training and are working in their Local Government areas (LGA) as required by law but under strict supervision of the State Police Command.
He stated that their engagement is obviously for visibility and to promote Sustainable peace, economic growth and development of the state.
Ani also stated that the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, CFR, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) says the PSC will continue to partner with the Police to ensure an improved security of lives and property in the country.
Dr. Arase noted that security is not only a government responsibility but that of every Nigerian and called for a citizen based approach to security in Nigeria.
He however disclosed that the Commission in consultation with the IGP will ensure that the uniform of the Constabularies are clearly differentiated from that of the Nigeria Police Force to avoid cases of identity crisis and also define their specific roles in the security architecture of the nation.