President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed the Inspector-General of Police to reduce the number of policemen attached to Nigerian big men and redeploy them to regular police duties.

On the stagnation of policemen on a rank for many years, the President directed the Police Service Commission to review the  current structure of the police, and make recommendations on how the problem can be solved to  boost the morale of serving policemen.
The President warned also on Thursday that he will not tolerate any irregularities, including extortion and bribe in the coming recruitment into the police.
He spoke at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Police Service Commission in the Presidential Villa in Abuja, his spokesman Femi Adesina said in a statement. 
He said applicants having to pay bribes before being accepted into the police in the past was totally unacceptable and told the officials that those in charge of recruitment and training in the Police must be above board and eschew every form of extortion and underhand dealing.
“You must ensure that the recruitment process is transparent. Those who will conduct the recruitment must be above board. It should not be heard that they  receive gratification or extort money from those who want to enlist in the police,”  President Buhari  cautioned.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr James  Obiegbu  had, in his briefing of the President, listed inadequate police personnel, dwindling finances and non-rehabilitation of police training schools as some of the challenges facing the police.
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Okiro said the country needed to have more than the 305,579 policemen and women which it has at present for effective policing.
He thanked President Buhari for approving the recruitment of 10,000 additional policemen and women earlier this week.