An intensive lobbying is presently going on in the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS ) , a paramilitary
agency of the Ministry of Interior , to persuade the
authorities to turn a blind eye to the report of two
committees , which recently verified the certificates of
the NIS staff .
The NIS and Ministry of Interior had not long ago set
up different panels to investigate charges of
certificate and age falsification levied against some
senior officers .
Comptroller General of Immigration Service (CGIS ) ,
David Shikfu Paradang , had carried out the exercise
in line with the tasks handed over to him during his
swearing - in by President Goodluck Jonathan on
June 12 , 2013 .
Jonathan had directed Paradang to flush out bad
eggs , “ viruses and all forms of bad characters in the
service ” .
Paradang was said to have begun the in- house
cleaning exercise after the President’ s charge to
flush out majority of the officers said to have altered
their dates of birth to beat early retirement.
In fact, about 60 per cent of the staff of the NIS was
discovered to be working with fake certificates .
Not only this, many of them were also found to have
falsified their ages.
While the certificate verification committee set up by
the CGIS was in session , many of the staff were said
to have avoided the exercise by refusing to submit
the format required of them because of the legal
implication of swearing on oath, as they possess fake
certificates .
A source close to the agency told Daily Independent
that the report of the committees may not see the
light of the day , as some prominent politicians are
bent on killing their findings.
The NIS committee , which had Mrs . Rebecca Ayuba,
an Assistant , Comptroller General of Immigration
( ACI ) , as a member , was said to have carried out a
thorough job .
Mrs . Ayuba was described as a seasoned officer with
a good reputation .
Similarly , Minister for Interior , Patrick Abba Moro ,
inaugurated another committee early in the year to
verify the academic certificates of the staff of the NIS .
A circular (Ref . No. FMOI /DPARA / 0045/ V . I . /166
June 12 , 2014 ) signed by K . E . Amuga (Director in-
charge of Paramilitary Services Department in the
Ministry ) directed all the staff of the NIS to forward
within two weeks a format which included their bio -
data , educational qualifications( s ) , secondary and
tertiary institutions attended with dates and NYSC
discharge certificate / exemption.
The officers were also required to swear an affidavit
of facts at the High Court of Justice that the
information and facts contained in the format and the
documents submitted to the Ministry’ s Academic
Certificates Verification Committee are correct .
They were also asked to attach their passport
photographs , photocopies of letter (s ) of promotion
( s ) , approval for additional qualifications and
evidence of payment to the sworn affidavit .
Members of the committee included K . E . Amuga
( Director – Paramilitary Dept ) , Abdullahi S . Karshi
( ACTU - Civil Defence, Fire , Immigration and Prison
Services Board) and Ime U . Nta , a Chief
Superintendent of Immigration (Special Assistant to
the Minister on Immigration Matters ) .
Though the committees were said to have concluded
their assignments , the government is under pressure
to dump the reports because many of the officers
were said to be in possession of fake certificates .
“ During the verification exercise, we discovered that
the productivity , professional and competence levels
of many staff on board are abysmal.
“ We discovered as well that many officers in the NIS
wear ranks they cannot defend . These translate to
inability to deal with challenges of tackling insecurity
in the country .
“ It was discovered that about 60 per cent of officers
are holding certificates they cannot defend, because
during the scrutiny exercise, a cursory investigation
showed that many officers have different dates of
birth ” , said a member of one of the committees who
preferred anonymity .
The source alleged that many of the staff also bought
forged degree certificates .
According to him, “ because of too much attachment
to paper qualification , people have to source for
avenues to acquire such” .
According to him, a serving female Assistant
Comptroller of Immigration (ACI ) actually obtained
her first and master ’ s degrees from an Italian
University with a pass in one school certificate
subject .
The officer with Master ’ s Degree in Philosophy from
Pontifial Universitas Lateranensis , Rome , claimed to
have attended the university between 1983 and 1985
with only one subject obtained from the West African
School Certificate Examination (WASCE ) in 1981.
“ This is a clear case of forgery . This officer who
joined the NIS on October 9 , 1989, obtained her
WASC in 1981 with only one subject . She claimed to
have proceeded to this university in Rome and
obtained her first degree in 1983 . Do you obtain a
degree certificate in two years ?
“ As if that was not enough , she claimed to have
obtained her second degree in the same university in
1985 . She later sat for her General Certificate of
Examination ( GCE ) in 2005 in Nigeria .
“ Do you sit for GCE after obtaining two degrees from
the university ?” the officer queried.
To him, this is another clear case of forgery and the
female officer has been in service for more than 20
years .
The source told Daily Independent that the certificate
verification exercises had exposed majority of them in
this act.
Another officer who has been serving in Lagos for
over 10 years also claimed to have just graduated
from the University of Maiduguri .
“ How did he acquire such degree when the university
in question does not offer part - time degree
programmes in Lagos and he did not apply for a
study leave?” she queried.
“ Something is wrong somewhere , ” the source fumed.
She further told Daily Independent that many of the
officers who were verified presented letters of
notification of results and also letters of exemption
from National Youths Service Corps (NYSC ) from
universities to defend their forged certificates .
An Assistant Superintendent of Immigration at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport , Abuja, also
said : “ A report is out and the CGIS is in possession of
it . Most of their godfathers are pressuring the
Minister of Interior and some prominent politicians
across the land to dump the report because they
want to cover their inadequacies .
“ Interestingly, a member of one of the committees
has multiple dates of birth.
“ He fraudulently and criminally doctored his
certificates . He has the old Grade 11 Teachers ’
Certificate , but he claimed to be a second degree
holder , ” the source said.
Further investigations by Daily Independent revealed
that Moro had flocked the NIS with officers from his
Idoma extraction in Benue State.
According to sources , since 2011, the Idoma tribe
have got more slots in recruitment exercises over
Adamawa and Taraba states .
Another Immigration official concurred that the report
of the committees might not see the light of the day
because they (reports ) would be ratified by the Civil
Defence , Immigration , Fire and Prisons Board
( CDIFPB) , headed by Moro .
“ The Honourable Minister is the chairman of the
CDIFPB that would consider the reports . Since some
of the people indicted by the committees came into
the service through him, you can label the report as
BID (Brought In Dead ) , ” the officer said.
When contacted, spokesman of the NIS ,
Chukwuemeka Obuah , an Assistant Comptroller of
Immigration (ACI ) , said it was true that committees
were inaugurated and that a report has been
submitted , but he said he could not comment on it .
Asked how the committees were able to determine
fake certificates , Obuah confirmed that the NIS has
the most equipped forensic laboratory in Africa that
can detect frauds at any level .
Obuah said the NIS maintains a well equipped
Document Fraud Laboratory which has the primary
responsibility of carrying out forensic examination of
suspicious travel documents and monetary
instruments .
According to him, the Document Fraud Laboratory is
patronised by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission ( EFCC ) , Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) ,
the Nigeria Police Force ( NPF ) and commercial banks
whenever they have need for forensic examination of
monetary instruments.
In another development , Captains of vessels that
discharge premium motor spirits ( PMS) at the Apapa
Quay , Lagos, are alleging that NIS officials extort
money from them .
They allege that the NIS officials always demand
money and food from the Captains before they allow
them to anchor their vessels .
They also claimed that they had brought the case
before the Controller in- charge of Lagos Seaport /
Marine Command , Mrs . T . Olaniyi , and that officers
had been warned to discontinue with such illegal
practices .
According to our source , the NIS officials now issue
fake Temporary Work Permit (TWP ) to Captains in an
attempt to collect money from them.
“ The TWP is a kind of visa issued only by the
Comptroller General of Immigration Service for
foreigners to install equipment of commission
equipment which can not be done by Nigerians .
“ It is issued through Cablegrams to such foreigners
through the Operations Section of the NIS to get them
entry visas .
“ We now have officials who issue this fake TWP and
collect money from the shipping companies when
they go for clearance , ” said one of the officials of a
shipping company .
Instead of sending the TWP to foreigners before they
come into the country , they now issue it to them on
arrival in the country .
However , Deputy Director ( Public Relations ) , Nigerian
Shippers ’ Council ( NSC) , I . N . Nweke, said such
complaints have not been brought before the NSC.
He said the shipping companies or Captains should
document their claims for proper investigation .
“ We hold regular meetings with the NIS. If we get
such complaints , they will be addressed , ” Nweke
promised.

Here we go again

This isn't news again in Nigeria..

A whole 60% working with forged certificates is really alarming. How were they recruited at first? And come to think that innocent lives were lost during the last recruitment exercise...

SMH for my country.

Jonathan has been shielding Corrupt Politicians since 2010

it is normal in the civil service and it really shows a big problem as productivity is near zero in many offices

egift: Jonathan has been shielding Corrupt Politicians since 2010

Soon, you will be 1st to clamour for his re-election.

...and qualified pple are @ home...smh

That explains why jobseekers have to pay for application forms and why so many died during the shambled recruitment exercise.And it also explains why nobody has been brought to book for the atrocities.

Incompetence rules the roost in all endeavours in nigeria and that is the core bone of contention why the country is steadily on reverse. It is a crazy society.Quota system is counter productive,it depletes intelligence and efficiency.

20pounds: The igbo-smoking Abba Moro is a certificate forger too. Let him furnish his credentials for us to verify. His kinsmen that he employ everyday, through the back door; are they qualified?

And Paradang? Did he not falsify his age? An Ijaw proverb said that 'a fish get rotten from the head'. We also know that those who live in glass houses, don't throw stones. This is why this exercise will amount to nothin cos those who are coming to equity have their hands dripping with oil.


These people are lucky that we lack investigative journalists(or any journalist at all!) In this country. Saharareporters were doing fine, till they got soaked in partisan politics and was washed down the drain.

pls explain how sahara reporters are involve in partisan politics

redsun: That explains why jobseekers have to pay for application forms and why so many died during the shambled recruitment exercise.And it also explains why nobody has been brought to book for the atrocities.

Incompetence rules the roost in all endeavours in nigeria and that is the core bone of contention why the country is steadily on reverse. It is a crazy society.Quota system is counter productive,it depletes intelligence and efficiency.

Jonathan has been shielding Corrupt and evil men since October 1st 2010.

Judgement day is at hand. There will be no hiding place for looters and their godsons/daughters.

Na today yansh dey back? Anything goes in Naija.