Impunity On August 22, 2014, a concerned Immigration officer wrote an open letter to former President Goodluck Jonathan on what he called the “unministerial conduct” of the then Minister of Interior, Comrade Patrick Abba Moro. Copies of the letter were sent to the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, Senate Committee on Interior and the Head of Service of the Federation. The officer accused the former Minister of abuse of office, corruption and impunity. It was equally alleged by the concerned officer that junior officers above their seniors was the order of the day under the Minister since he assumed office in 2011. Agencies under the Ministry of Interior are Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Prison Service (NPS), Federal Fire Service (FFS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Allegations were also rife that the sleaze and injustice in Immigration led to a fight between Moro and former Comptroller General of Immigration, Rose Chinyere Uzoma, over staff recruitment and that resulted in her ouster on January 16, 2013. She was succeeded by Rilwan Bala Musa in an acting capacity before the appointment of the current CGI, David Shikfu Parradang, on June 10, 2013. Uzoma reportedly disagreed with Moro over his alleged penchant for staffing Immigration with people from his Idoma ethnic nationality in Benue State. The woman was said to have complained to those close to her that the powers-that-be were literarily forcing her to engage many people from a particular ethnic nationality in Immigration Service. Prior to that time, it was gathered that Comptrollers- General were empowered to recruit staff on Grade Levels One to Seven. But after the fight between Moro and Uzoma, the right was withdrawn and handed over to the board and Head of Service of the Federation. Although the FFS, NSCDC, NIS and NPS are under the control of a board (Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration, and Prisons Services Board), which is responsible for the appointment and promotion of staff, the role of the board was alleged to have been eroded by corruption and meddling from higher quarters. Buhari cancels special promotion In the face of these weighty allegations, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the cancellation of special promotion granted 30 officers of the NIS. Those affected are 22 senior officers and eight junior ones. Patrick P. Moro, younger brother to the immediate past Minister is among the junior officers who have been ordered to revert to their former ranks with immediate effect. Buhari had earlier ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to cancel the promotion exercise it conducted for its staff in the last days of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, due to “observed lapses.” An SSS memo, signed by one, Toma C. Minti and dated July 3, 2015, urged those that benefitted from the exercise “to revert to their former ranks with immediate effect.” A wide category of staff that were “promoted, converted and upgraded” by the exercise would be affected. “In view of the observed lapses in the promotion exercise released from March 31, 2015 to date, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has directed its suspension forthwith. The personnel affected include those promoted, converted and upgraded within the period under review,” the memo said. “The DGSS has constituted a committee to handle the review of all the cases,” it said, urging its offices across the country to disseminate the information to all personnel. The letter conveying the NIS promotion dated May 27, 2015, was signed by the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Pensions Services Board (CDFIPB) Alhaji A.A. Ibrahim. Ibrahim’s letter to the Comptroller General of NIS, David Parradang reads: “Forwarding of the list and respective letters of 22 names of senior officers and eight junior officers recommended for special promotion. I am directed to convey approval of the CDFIB for the special promotion of the under-listed officers. “In the exercise of your delegated responsibility, you are expected to conduct the production and issuance of the individual officers’ letter of promotion. Please accept the Board’s highest consideration in this regard including our hearty congratulations to the affected officers”. Those to lose ranks According to investigations by Nigerian NewsDirect, the affected 22 senior officers (Inspectorate Cadre) are: James Sunday (ACI-DCI); Momoh Aipon Brahim ((ACI- DCI); Chidi Nwadiaro (ACI-DCI); Isa Oddor Adamu (CSI-ACI); Nuruddeen M.M. (SI-CSI); Yelichini M. Wilberforce (DCII- CII); Odimegwu Curtis Ernest (ASCI-DSI); Dotun Aderibigbe (CSI-ACI); Abdulrasheed Sheu (CSI-ACI); Dike Chukwuemeka Michael (ACI-DCI); Halima Umar Usman (PII-ACII). Others include Friday Akor Etuka (ASI II –ASI I); Dallah Yusuf (SII-PII); Attah Godwin (SII-PII); Ali Matthew (II-SII); Ameh Elechenu (SII-PII); Onah Francis (SII-PII); Odah A. Gabriel ((SII-PII); Eche Ejeh (SII- PII); Oloja Francis (SII-PII); Ngbede Isa (II-SII) and Vembe Paul Aondona (II-SII). The eight junior officers (Assistant Cadre) who benefitted from the controversial exercise are: Adamu Dalo (AII); Michael Adegbe (CIA); Ukombe Marcus (IA I); Kenneth Okoye (IA I); Ekoja Simon (IA2); Patrick P. Moro (IA I); Haruna Ngbede (IA I) and Okobia Simon (IA I). How CGI kicked against promotion A combination of dejection and spirit of rebellion had pervaded the air around the NIS over the controversial mass promotion. Scores of petitions were forwarded to the board by aggrieved staff demanding that the exercise be cancelled. Parradang also wrote against the promotion, an exercise which earned him a question mark from the Permanent Secretary. Parradang had written a protest letter to the CDFIPB, arguing that the promotions should be reversed because they did not follow due procedures. Moro was Chairman of the board until the end of last administration on May 29, 2015. Parradang’s protest letter to the Director/Secretary, against the promotion was written on June 8. The letter entitled Re: Release of year 2014 senior officers promotion results” reads: “I wish to draw your kind attention to the above subject matter and to invite you to recall that Mr. HY Malgwi (Deputy Comptroller General – HRM) represented me in most of the meetings of the CDFIPB preparatory to the release of the results of the 2014 Senior Officers promotion Exercise. “However, I consider it expedient to inform the CDFIPB that available intelligence coupled with a barrage of complaints, with which my office is being inundated, indicate that majority of officers and men of the Nigeria Immigration Service are disgruntled over the outcome of the last promotion exercise, particularly the ‘Special Promotion’ in favour of 30 officers/men, conveyed vide three letters, all with Reference No. CDFIPB/FFS/SP/REQ/429/1 and dated 27th May, 2015. “Although the Public Service Rules do not make any specific reference to the concept of Special Promotion, the CDFIBB Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Discipline of August, 2012 provides in Paragraph ‘C’ of page 20 of the document as follows: “SPECIAL PROMOTION – A reward for excellence – Promotion in the Board shall be based on merit. However, in deserving cases, the Board in consultation with the Services may identify and offer special promotion to officers who show commitment and exceptional brilliance in the discharge of their responsibilities and performance of duty in the services. “Paragraph 3 above presupposes that no officer of the NIS can be considered for “special promotion” unless there has been due consultation between the Board and the NIS, that such an officer has been identified and deserves to be so honoured for exceptional performance of his official duties. It can be safely inferred that the identification of such an officer may be by way of letter of recommendation from the Comptroller General of Immigration Service or even any other authority/person outside the NIS and the NIS thereafter forwards the name (s) of such officer(s) with the particulars of the exceptional performance of duty to justify any deserved honour from the CDFIPB in the magnitude of “special promotion”. “My attention has been drawn to this position by officers who are apparently aggrieved by the development, especially as it is being alleged that the process was seemingly not only laden with irregularities but had encroached into the 2015 vacancies for promotion. See Annex 1 and 11. “It may be necessary to also point out here that the consternation being generated by the outcomes of the last promotion exercise, including the special promotion cases, may not be in our best interest, as Officers/Men who carry arms and charged with the enormous and very sensitive responsibility of securing our borders, among other duties which have direct bearing on national security, should ordinarily not be performing such duties with low morale or disaffection. Apart from breeding gross indiscipline in a uniform service like ours, which operates on the bedrock of seniority, such untoward situation may also impact negatively on our reinvigorated efforts at ensuring effective and efficient service delivery to Nigerians and foreigners alike. The multiplier effect of these scenarios can be better imagined. “The essence of this letter therefore, is to urge the CDFIPB to convene a special meeting with a view to critically looking into the issues at stake and to take necessary steps to redeem the good image of the Board and the hard-earned integrity of its esteemed members. “While the above is for your consideration and necessary action, please accept as always the renewed assurances of my high regards and esteemed consideration”. Parradang restated his opposition to the promotion while speaking with Nigerian NewsDirect in an exclusive interview in his Abuja office on June 17. “I have seen that special promotion, I will talk to you very categorically about that. The Act that establishes the Immigration and Prisons Services Board has specific provisions for special promotions and in special promotions, there is a provision in that Act and it is strictly on recommendation by the individual’s service and it must have been a recommendation from their act of gallantry or a performance of a job that has been done to warrant special promotion. Those are the procedures for special promotions”, he explained. A day after the publication, Parradang incurred the wrath of some powerful forces for crying aloud against the promotion. Permanent Secretary squeals on CGI The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Abubakar G. Magaji, questioned the CGI over the interview. In a June 29 memo with reference number FMI/ PSO/020/T1/187, entitled “Re: Immigration to annul Moro’s special promotion”, the Permanent Secretary said: “My attention has been drawn to a publication by the Nigerian NewsDirect newspaper, Vol.5.No.31, at front page and page 11 of Monday June 29, 2015, with the above caption (copy attached). In view of the provisions of the Public Service Rules on Publication and Public Utterances, particularly PSR No. 030421 (i) (b) and (c) and PSR No. 160601 under Application of the Public Service Rule to Federal Government Parastatals, you are requested to comment on the contents of the Report. Please accept my warm regards”. Consequently, Parradang fortified his action saying “I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your letter FMI/ PSO/020/T1/187 dated 29th June on the above subject matter and state as follows: “That in line with the provisions of Public Service Rules (PRS) 030421 (i) and Section 27 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I did grant interview to the Executive Editor of NewsDirect newspaper, one Mr. Rotimi Durojaiye, a fortnight ago on a variety of issues. “That in the course of the conversation and in response to his question on the modalities used by the Civil Defence, Immigration, Prisons and Fire Services Board (CDFIPB) in the last special promotion, I told him that I take exception to the exercise because due procedures as spelt out in Paragraph ‘C’ page 20 of the CDFIPB Guidelines for Appointment and Discipline of August 2012 were not followed. “That never a time in the conversation did I tell the journalist that the NIS would annul the said Special promotion because I know that the NIS does not have such powers hence my protest letter to the appropriate quarters. I also told him that I protested the exercise when it became clear to me that due process was not observed in the nomination of the beneficiaries of the said special promotion because of my understanding of the negative implications of elevating subordinates far above their superiors without proven reasons. The implications of such exercise on discipline and general motivation of the workforce in the long run especially as a Service under arms cannot be over estimated. “I hereby enclose the audio device of the interview and full publication of the same in the NewsDirect newspaper for the consideration of the Permanent Secretary. “Kindly accept as always, the assurances of my high regards”. Furore over foreign postings While the dust created by the board headed by the former Minister over the special promotion is yet to settle, there is also open talk of low morale of NIS officers on foreign missions. About 75 percent of names of officers on foreign missions are said to have come from the former Minister’s office. Aggrieved officers are therefore calling on President Buhari to recall all officers of the NIS who are in foreign missions. Nigerian NewsDirect learnt that majority of the officers in foreign missions are from a section of Nigeria, with Benue State having the lion’s share. The officers who are said to be paid allowances in hard currencies also draw their monthly salaries at home. They are also entitled to free accommodation wherever they are posted to. Benue state has 14 (about 32 percent) out of 93 officers posted to 40 countries across the world. It is followed by Imo State with nine officers, closely followed by Plateau State which has eight officers. Kwara, Ebonyi, Anambra, Cross River, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Jigawa and Niger States have only one officer each in foreign missions. While Bauchi, Kogi and Rivers States have five officers each, Kaduna and Edo have four officers each outside the country. Katsina, Osun, Zamfara and Abia have three officers each representing them in foreign missions, while Bayelsa, Borno, Kebbi, Oyo, Delta, Adamawa, and Sokoto have only two officers each. The exercise had drawn criticisms from other members of the service who felt that their states had been shut out. But while defending the postings during his interview with Nigerian NewsDirect, Parradang had stated that “the criteria used in foreign posting are the federal character adopted all over the country and we try to pick the best of our officers to serve in missions abroad”. Many aggrieved officers are seeking redress and are insisting that the last days of Moro be probed by the administration of President Buhari, especially concerning promotions in the parastatals under the Ministry of Interior. The complaining officers who produced copious documents to establish the malpractices urged President Buhari to come to their rescue by instituting an enquiry into the rushed promotion exercise. An officer added that “the corruption in the board is responsible for these promotion scams. If you attend an interview without following it up at the board, you are sure to lose out despite your score in the promotion exam. “The board is headed by a Director/Secretary and is answerable to the Minister of Interior who is the Chairman. But corruption and nepotism climbed the wall during the last board under the Minister. “His style did not go down well with many directors on the board and the Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry. But he appeared to have the power to remove them. In fact, he removed up to four directors and Permanent Secretaries who opposed him. He was very powerful”. Various attempts to get the side of the Director/Secretary of the Board and Moro were unsuccessful. One of the former aides of Moro who does not want his name in print, said the allegations of corruption and nepotism against his ex-boss were false, saying those making the allegations should come forward with evidence to substantiate them. He insisted that there was no way “he could have circumvented the rules guiding appointments and promotions in the agencies because they are laid down”. NIS Public Relations Officer, Chukwuemeka Obua, an Assistant Chief Inspector, said he could not comment on any of the issues “because my boss has spoken”. The dust raised by the board and Moro hasn’t settled yet, and it is not likely to settle soon.

money?