In a strange development, a 22-year-old applicant, Babatunde Fawaz, has been disqualified from the current recruitment drive of the Nigeria Police Force on the grounds of being “overaged,” despite records showing he falls within the prescribed age limit.
The applicant stated that he was born in June 2003 and this was shown in his declaration of age and his national identity details.
The issue has heightened concerns over the transparency and reliability of the screening process held physically and through the portal of the Police Service Commission.
According to recruitment guidelines given by the police, the maximum age for entry-level applicants is 25 years. However, Babatunde, who was born in June 2003, was disqualified after completing both the physical and credential screening stages, according to messages from the recruitment portal.
The message sent to him through the recruitment portal read:
“Dear Babatunde Fawaz, Be informed that following the credential and physical screening assessment conducted earlier, you did not meet the minimum benchmark required for further consideration in the 2025 Recruitment Exercise. REASON(S): OVERAGED.”
At the time of the screening, the applicant was about 21 years and 10 months old, placing him nearly four years below the stated age limit.
Babatunde, an indigene of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, had progressed through the initial stages of the exercise before his status was later changed to “disqualified” when the list for the examination stage was released.
Speaking on the development, Babatunde expressed confusion over the decision.
“I am just 22. I don’t know why they said I’m over aged. It’s traumatic. I’m not happy with what has happened. How can I be overaged at 22 when the maximum age is 25?” he said.
The development has raised questions about whether the issue was caused by human error or a possible glitch in the automated screening system hosted on the recruitment portal.
However, efforts to reach the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Anthony Placid, have been abortive as he didn’t respond to messages, and his number has been unreachable when contacted.
The physical and credential screening for the recruitment exercise was held between March 9 and April 18, 2026, across Nigeria, while a written exam for candidates who passed the screening is scheduled for April 28 to 30, 2026.
