‘No Budget For Fatal NIS Recruitment Exercise’

The ‎former Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Mr. David Paradang, yesterday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that there was no budgetary provisions for the deadly NIS recruitment exercise that claimed the lives of 15 job seekers in 2014.

Paradang, who testified before the court for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against Comrade Abba Moro over alleged N676million job scam told the. Court that each zonal comptroller received N1000 befoore the exercise.

Others equally charged over the alleged recruitment fraud are the former Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Interior, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia and a ‎Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr. F. O Alayebami.

They were charged alongside the firm that was contracted to conduct the botched March 15, 2014, NIS, recruitment exercise, Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd.

The anti-graft agency had earlier told the court that ‎one of the alleged culprits, Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu, who it said was a Director at the firm, was at large. The defendants are answering to an 11-count charge.

At the resumed sitting yesterday, the former NIS boss, Paradang, told the court that service was not financially ready for the exercise.

Paradang who was led in evidence by EFCC lawyer, Mr. Aliyu Yusuf, said: “We had no money to fund the recruitment exercise. But on 14 March, 2014, I was told by NIS zonal controllers that they had received N300, 000 each from the service’s board.

“The N300, 000 was inadequate as it could not even rent a venue for the recruitment exercise. There were supposed to be ambulances and allowances for the NIS personnel who conducted the job exercise.

“On March 15, 2014, the day of the recruitment exercise, I received calls and text messages from my deputies about the stampede that took place in the exercise across the country, where 15 job seekers died while 165 others were injured.

“At the end of the day, we had 15 casualties and 165 injured persons,”Paradang added.

Testifying further, Paradang told the trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive for the employment of three relatives each of the deceased job applicants, was overruled after the job offer letters were issued. The trial has been adjourned till July 1 and 5 for continuation.