About 240 officers of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are to be dismissed unceremoniously this week for forging university and polytechnics certificates.
The officers, it was learnt, committed the offence to enable them escape an impending demotion of customs personnel that were improperly promoted to positions above their academic qualifications.
Sources close to the management of NCS said that the officers were caught during the verification of the certificates of all the men and officers of the agency, to determine those who are qualified for the ranks they are wearing.
It was learnt earlier on Thursday that anxiety gripped the customs personnel over the order of the Comptroller- General, Col. Hamid Alli (rtd), that those who benefitted from the improper promotion should be demoted to their deserving ranks.
At the last count, no fewer than 4,000 officers were listed for the demotion exercise, but the affected officers in their desperation to frustrate their demotions resorted to lobbying their godfathers, but these 240 officers chose to submit fake certificates. But they were discovered after the institutions they claimed they graduated from, disowned them, it was learnt.
The Comptroller-General, according to sources was very angry over the development and ordered that the officers be dismissed with ‘immediate effect’ The 4,000 officers slated for demotion, mostly joined the service with WASC certificate and according to Mr. Christan Osunlkwu, Public Relations Officer, Tin Can Island Command, Nigerian Customs Service, there a standing rule, which states that officer with WASC certificate cannot be promoted above the rank of Customs Inspector.
“Officers know that these things have been spelt out; it is just that a lot of them believe that they have godfathers here and there, that is why they sometimes flout some of these directives.
If you are not a graduate or Higher National Diploma holder, and you join the Customs, you are not a commissioned officer yet until you do what we call lateral conversion,” he said.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/70310/240-officers-sacked-over-forged-certificates