IN SHORT: Several posts on Facebook claim the Nigeria Police Force will begin a recruitment drive in September 2025. But this is false, according to the police.
A “breaking” news message posted on Facebook in late August 2025 claimed that the Nigeria Police Force was planning to recruit.
Part of the message reads: “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform the general public that the recruitment exercise for suitably qualified candidates into the Force has been scheduled to commence on Monday, 22nd September, 2025.”
The post included a recruitment notice with application guidelines, allegedly signed by an unnamed police spokesperson.
The same claim was shared here and here. (Note: See other instances of the claim at the end of this report.)
The claim might seem credible, as news reports in June confirmed the police had been approved to recruit 30,000 additional officers.
But is this really an official recruitment notice from the police? We checked.
Ignore fake recruitment notice
In a disclaimer on its official Facebook page, the Nigeria Police Force dismissed the advert and urged the public to ignore it.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform the general public that the information currently circulating regarding an upcoming recruitment exercise is false and misleading as no recruitment is currently taking place within the Force,” the post said.
It included the same notice, stamped with the word “FAKE”.
The police further advised Nigerians to rely only on its official website and verified social media pages for accurate information.
The false claim was circulated widely here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
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