Intelligence officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested a level 14 officer of a Federal Government ministry in Abuja, for a job scam running into several millions of naira.
The suspect, who is said to be a cousin to a serving senator and former Minister of Interior, Senator Abba Moro, was alleged to have collected money running into several million from desperate job seekers on the pretext that they were going to be employed to replace any of the shortlisted 6,500 candidates expected for the final screening of the 2019/2020 NSCDC recruitment.
Competent intelligence sources informed that the suspect allegedly paid two senior officers of the corps over N16 million to allow his candidates to be selected for the final screening and employment.
According to sources, the suspect was said to have gone to the Kaduna venue of the final selection of prospective civil defence corps members from the North -West with his candidates and the final payment of the employment fee when he was arrested.
“His arrest was dramatic as he was there to give the officer the balance of the fee he charged. Minutes after collecting it, the officer who said he should wait at a particular point was alleged to have alerted the intelligence officers that subsequently, arrested him,” a source disclosed.
It was gathered that the man was moved from Kaduna to Abuja on 28th August 2021. He has been in the NSCDC cell at the Soka, the Abuja headquarters of the corps, even when he had perfected the bail conditions he was given.
The suspect was was said to have mentioned the name of a popular senior officer of the corps who is currently serving in one of the North -East states who had been allegedly invited to the intelligence desk but granted bail on self-recognition.
Both the suspect and the officer are said to have come from the same ethnic root. New National Star also gathered that the corps is investigating a top officer of NSCDC in the FCT command who was also alleged to have collected several millions of naira from unsuspecting job seekers.
Addressing a joint press conference with the Secretary of the Board of Immigration, Fire, Civil Defence and Corrections Service, Aisha Rufai, at the weekend in Abuja, the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Mr. Ahmed Audi, said 5,000 people would be given employment from the 6,500 shortlisted.
Audi, who said about 1.5 million persons began the initial recruitment process in 2019, said the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason the exercise was put on hold until a go-ahead was given by the board’s Chairman and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
“We wish to inform all prospective applicants that sat for the Computer-Based Test that 6,500 candidates out of 53,116 have been shortlisted to attend the final screening of credentials and physical fitness verification,” he stated.
The Commandant General said those with K- legs, flat feet, gross malfunctioning teeth, hunchback, obesity, deformity, hearing impairment, speech impediment, body tattoos, eyesight defects and drug addiction stood disqualified.
He asked successful applicants to appear at the zonal screening centres in white T-shirts, shorts and canvass. The exercise is free. Six centres have been chosen, with one for each region of the country.
Efforts to get an official reaction to the job scam from Mr. Sola Odumosu, Public Relations Officer of the corps, proved abortive as of press time.