The Federal Government will recruit over 94,000 new personnel into Nigeria’s security services as part of measures to tackle rising insecurity across the country.
Under the plan, the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force will recruit 50,000 police constables.
The recruitment portal is expected to be open to eligible Nigerians from December 15, 2025, to January 25, 2026.
In a statement on Thursday by the Head of Protocol and Public Affairs, Torty Kalu, the Commission said the recruitment portal would open to eligible Nigerians from December 15, 2025, to January 25, 2026.
The statement partly read, “The PSC, in collaboration with the NPF, is pleased to announce the commencement of recruitment of 50,000 Police Constables into the Nigeria Police Force, as directed by President Bola Tinubu. Following this Presidential directive aimed at strengthening community policing, enhancing internal security and expanding the manpower base of the Nigeria Police Force, the Commission has approved the opening of the recruitment portal for applications from eligible Nigerians.
“For the General Duty cadre, applicants are required to possess GCE Ordinary Level, SSCE/NECO or equivalent qualifications with at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, in no more than two sittings.
“Applicants for the Specialists cadre must possess a minimum of four credits, including English and Mathematics, also in no more than two sittings, and must have at least three years of experience and relevant trade test certifications.”
He said eligible applicants must be Nigerian citizens by birth.
An official of the Nigerian Army, speaking off the record because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said the Army may recruit about 14,000 new soldiers following the President’s directive.
“You know the President recently gave an order; based on that we might probably recruit 14,000,” the official said.
The Navy and Nigerian Air Force did not provide exact numbers, but sources said both services will increase their intakes.
In June, the Ministry of Interior announced a nationwide recruitment of 30,000 personnel across the four paramilitary agencies.
Our correspondent, however, gathered from ministry officials that the process was being expedited to inject the recruited personnel into the system.
On November 26, 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and directed the Nigeria Police and Armed Forces to recruit more personnel to confront the escalating insecurity.
The planned recruitments follow a surge in violence across the country, with the expectation that increased manpower will help strengthen security operations.
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to recruit massively, stating that the country was in dire need of more boots on the ground.
He said the intervention came at a time when security concerns were mounting across the country.
He stated this during his visit to the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.) in Abuja to discuss ways to address the lingering insecurity in Plateau State.
Mutfwang expressed delight over Musa’s appointment, describing it as a strategic and timely decision in confronting the country’s intricate and evolving security challenges.
He assured the minister of his total and unwavering support in the collective effort to defeat insecurity in Plateau State and across Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Mutfwang’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, in a statement on Thursday.
The governor noted that the minister’s vast experience and proven professionalism would significantly strengthen ongoing national security interventions.
Reiterating his long-standing position, he once again declared his support for the establishment of state police.
Mutfwang noted, “The decision is timely, and I believe that overtaxed security personnel will be having a sigh of relief very soon. One thing that is very important is that states have serious areas that are really threatened and require attention. So, we just need to expand and give more impetus.
‘’For me, if there is a window to get more security personnel, then the Plateau State Government is quite ready to key in. If we have the right manpower, equipment and motivation as some of the basics, the security situation in the country will improve.”
Mutfwang added that Nigeria needed to recruit enough manpower to achieve not only the UN ratio of one police officer to 500 citizens, but also to ensure that every village with over 100 people had at least one police officer—even if that meant the Nigeria Police Force would need more than one million personnel.
“Where we are going is that even if we have 100 people in a village, let at least one policeman be posted there. But to achieve that, we need one million police personnel or more. But at least let us begin with what we have and see what we can do. Once we do that, we can move forward.”
On the state police framework, he noted, “This will require careful planning with workable legislative structures put in place to avoid misuse, but I believe that with a clear operational model, we can make it work perfectly.”
