The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, said on Tuesday the Force would soon begin the recruitment of 20,000 junior police officers across the country.

The IGP stated this during his visit to the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, at the State Secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan.

Baba said the Nigerian police has every intention to increase its strength in terms of junior officers’ recruitment.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the commencement of the recruitment exercise.

He assured the state government that every local government area would benefit from the exercise, saying the recruited officers would serve in their respective local government areas after training.

According to the IGP, the recruitment exercise will not only expand the capacity of the force in combating crime, but also emboldened its community policing strategy.

Baba said his visit was to interact with the police personnel to boost their morale after the #EndSARS protest.

He implored the governor to continue supporting the police.

Responding, Makinde informed the IGP that the Oyo State police command had been cooperating with the people of the state and other security agencies.

“Over these few months, with the leadership of the police in the state, we have serious cooperation and the inter-agency rivalry has been reduced to the barest minimum in the state.

“We also know that this is a challenging period for the country, the resources are dwindling, but we have challenges all over, especially the insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, kidnapping in the South, and ethnic tension everywhere.

So, we have to keep supporting the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force,” he said.