Zainab Ali
The Federal Government has approved the recruitment of over 94,000 new personnel into Nigeria’s security services as part of renewed measures to tackle rising insecurity across the country.
Under the plan, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) 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, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the PSC’s Head of Protocol and Public Affairs, Torty Kalu.
The PSC said applicants for the General Duty cadre must possess GCE Ordinary Level, SSCE/NECO or equivalent qualifications with at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, obtained in no more than two sittings. Applicants for the Specialists cadre must have a minimum of four credits, including English and Mathematics, also in no more than two sittings, alongside at least three years of relevant experience and trade test certifications. Eligible applicants must be Nigerian citizens by birth.
An official of the Nigerian Army, who spoke off the record because he was not authorised to comment publicly, disclosed that 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 figures, but sources confirmed that both services would increase their intakes.
In June, the Ministry of Interior announced a nationwide recruitment of 30,000 personnel across the four paramilitary agencies. Ministry officials told our correspondent that the process was being expedited to inject the new personnel into the system.
On November 26, 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency and directed the Nigeria Police and the Armed Forces to recruit more personnel to confront the escalating insecurity.
The planned recruitments follow a surge in violence across the country, with expectations that increased manpower will strengthen security operations.
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, welcomed the Federal Government’s decision, saying Nigeria was in dire need of more boots on the ground. He made the remarks during a visit to the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), in Abuja, where he discussed lingering security challenges in Plateau State.
The governor, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, expressed delight over Musa’s appointment, describing it as strategic and timely given the country’s evolving security threats. He also reiterated his support for the establishment of state police.
Mutfwang said the recruitment drive would offer relief to overburdened security personnel. “States have serious areas that are really threatened and require attention. So, we just need to expand and give more impetus,” he said, adding that Nigeria needed to recruit enough personnel to achieve not only the UN ratio of one police officer to 500 citizens but also to ensure that every village with at least 100 people has a police officer. “To achieve that, we need one million police personnel or more. But at least let us begin with what we have.”
Retired security experts also weighed in on the development.
Brig. Gen. Peter Aro (retd.) said the enlistment of over 94,000 personnel signals a welcome acknowledgment of the scale of Nigeria’s security crisis. However, he warned that increasing numbers alone would not solve existing problems.
“For the police, recruiting 50,000 sounds impressive, but in reality Nigeria is under-policed by almost 120,000 officers when compared to the UN benchmark,” he said. “The key is thorough vetting. If we pour quantity into a structure already battling corruption, poor discipline and weak community relations, we will only multiply the old problems.”
He added that while 30,000 new paramilitary personnel could strengthen border security, immigration control, civil defence and corrections, the agencies must not become “parking lots for political favours.”
On the military, Aro said the proposed 14,000 intake for the Army barely covers attrition and falls short of what is required for a country of Nigeria’s size and multiple conflict theatres. He argued that the Army should be growing by 30,000 to 40,000 personnel annually for the next five years.
“The 94,000-personnel boost is a good start, but it becomes meaningful only if recruitment is clean, training modern, and the Armed Forces—especially the Army—receive the scale and tooling worthy of a nation of 220 million people,” he said.
Also speaking, Brig. Gen. Bashir Adewinbi (retd.) described the manpower increase as necessary given Nigeria’s vast ungoverned spaces, but stressed rigorous recruitment to ensure genuinely committed personnel are employed rather than political beneficiaries.