As the scandal on money for employment in some federal agencies spread, the Presidency has directed security and anti-corruption agencies to commence investigation on the development, even as the Federal Character Commission (FCC) is also reported to have taken up the matter.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Student Affairs, Comrade Jude Imagwe, told Sunday Tribune that relevant agencies were being updated and that those responsible for extorting various sums of money from unemployed job seekers would be fished out, vowing that; “This case will not be swept under the carpet.”

According to him;“I can assure Nigerian youths that Mr. President will not spare anybody. The president is working hard to create job opportunities for the unemployed and he will not accept any clique shortchanging fellow Nigerian youths .My office is following up the matter and we will be updating the public as events unfold.”

The presidential aide’s assertions came on the heel of reported arrests of some officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), following a story published by Sunday Tribune’s sister publication, last week, in which a youth leader alerted the Presidency to the practice of money for employment in some public agencies.

An online news mediun had followed up the story with a report that a senior officer of Civil Defence Corps was allegedly caught last week at a hotel in Gwagwalada sharing 2,000 letters of employment to prospective new employees, who were expected to pay the sum of N300,000 each to collect their letters.

The online news medium claimed that the incident happened on the 27th September at about 2.00 p.m., at Atlas Hotel in Gwagwalada, where the said official was reported to be “trading” with 2,000 appointment letters, which, it said, were actually signed by the head of the corps.

Three undercover operatives from the Prison and Immigration services, which were also indicted in the scam, were said to be responsible for the arrest of the Civil Defence official, while a commissioner of the joint board of Prison and Immigration services was said to have requested the Civil Defence Corps to hand over the arrested official to the anti-corruption agency for prosecution.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has, however, refuted the online media report that a senior official of the corps was arrested in connection with the alleged recruitment scam. Even though it confirmed to Sunday Tribune that arrest of some suspects in connection with the recruitment scam was made by the corps, recently, it claimed none of them was its personnel.

The spokesman of the corps, Mr Emmanuel Okah, said those arrested were not personnel of the NSCDC, adding that the; “Arrested persons have confessed to committing the crime by defrauding desperate applicants by impersonating as the corps’s personnel.

“However, one Mr. Ali Mohammed from Borno and Isaac Ochoche from Benue states respectively have been arraigned before the court of law for printing fake NSCDC recruitment forms, illegal extortion of money, as well as designing a website for the purpose of perpetrating fraud, while others are under interrogation,” spokesman of the corps said.

Sunday Tribune was, however, told that the attempt of the management of the Civil Defence Corps to handle the matter internally was raising dusts as the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has indicated interest in the matter.

The board of Immigration, Prison and Civil Defence is said to have requested that the case of the arrested official be handed over to the ICPC for investigation and prosecution, adding that the Civil Defence Corps cannot be a judge in its own case.

N600,000,000.00!!! Mind numbing sum. And to think this is only Civil Defense Corps. How much Customs go come collect per applicant...

front page please.....this is serious

I thought a guy had discussed this issue on this forum days ago. What a good move. There should thorough investigation in other agencies too.

This is one of the reasons why this country is still not well-developed. Incompetent hands are recruited through fraudulent processes. They get into the system and cant perform. The intelligent ones will be roasting in the labour market. Chai!

the are all lips services,can a thief catch a thief? .how can this stop wen in every recruitment the presidency is aloted slots.