Wonders will never end as long as one belongs to human society especially our own community known as Nigeria. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) popularly referred to as Civil Defence but my unlettered mother called it "Simple defence" has been bedevil by intrigues revolving around employment racketeering.
Sometimes in December 2012, the Organisation retrieved over 200 appointment letters from newly recruited officers for verifications. According to official sources there were instances of irregular appointments. After the verification exercise, about 102 officers were confirmed but their appointment letters were still retained. However, they were absolved into the system, while their salaries started flowing. They were trained in arms handling had continued working without any problem.
Before this development, these officers were screened with proper documentation. They were issued with security inbuilt identity cards. However, in June 2013, there was an absurd development when 97 out the initial 102 of the officers had their salaries stopped without any explanation while their colleagues were being paid.
Worried by the turn of events, the affected officers demand explanation from their superiors but they were informed that they were fake officers and that official communication to that effect directed the removal of their names from the pay roll system.
The affected officers continued to report for duty since they were not issued any termination letters. After a period of about a month thereafter they decided to stay away from their offices. As at the time of writing, they NSDC has re-absolved more leaving about 57 alleged fake officers. There has been no any review panel set up to justify the piece meal re-in statement of the others.
Assuming its correct that the appointments of the over 102 officers was irregular why did the Organisation placed them on salaries from January - March 2013 after the verification exercise?
And if they had not concluded their findings on them why paying people with irregular appointments salaries?
Granted if the argument of fake appointments is to hold, may I asked at what point was it supposed to be detected, at screening and documentation or even after the verification exercise?
Were the fake officers screened by fake Civil defence men or is the entire Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps fake too?
This is ridiculous, that people were appointed with letters, invited to screening and documented, trained in arms handling, posted and assigned responsibilities just to be termed fake and thrown out of jobs without termination letters. If the Commandant-General has no skeletons in his cupboard why will he remove the names of the alleged fake officers without any termination letter?
If they were actually fake why have they not been arrested and prosecuted for forgery but Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps preferred to remove their names secretly?
The sum total of these mind bugging questions leaves a rational mind with the suspicion that something is wrong and the Oga at the top are trying to cover up. They are trying to sacrifice these innocent young people to cover their wrong doing. If these people that went through all the enlistment processes just to be termed to be fake then its not out of place to say the entire system is fake and corrupted and cannot discharge the desire security obligations required by law. Therefore, Iam calling on the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces to intervene and save the integrity of the Organisation from total collapse. The act has destroyed public confidence in the Organisation.
Secondly, on behalf of these young people whose destinies is been gambled with Iam calling on all Civil and Human Rights advocates to declare their participation in this battle of the future of the 57 officers who presently have been thrown out of jobs while their families are languishing with starvation.
As mark of our determination to get justice for these people, we gave the NSCDC a notice to withdraw their action or we challenge it in court which had expired without any response from them.
We shall mobilise all resources at our disposal to resist these injustice to the Supreme Court. We appeal to all to be calm as we are determined to follow due process to get justice for the oppressed.
With God on the side of the oppressed, we are confident that we shall be vindicated.
Frantz Fanon argued that "the future shall have no pity on those men who poses the exceptional privilege of telling a word of truth to their oppressors but chose to take refuge under silence, mute indifference or sometimes cold complicity."
We have taken our stand, join us if you believed.
Written by Solomon Dalung, LLB, LB, LLM
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