THE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has dismissed four personnel and demoted 14 others over corruption and other forms of unethical misconduct.
The development is coming roughly two months after the service reportedly dismissed eight officers, sanctioned 18 and redeployed 100 others over unprofessional conducts.
The Public Relations Officer ( PRO) of the Service, Tony Akuneme, said in a statement on Tuesday, January 10, that the personnel were sanctioned after appearing before the Orderly Room Trial Committee of the Service.
He said the step is part of measures taken to rid the Service of bad eggs and reinforce the Federal Government’s commitment to the fight against corruption.
“As part of efforts to rid the Service of bad eggs and in furtherance of the Federal Government’s fight against corruption, the Nigeria Immigration Service has dismissed four personnel and demoted 14 for various offenses for which they appeared before the Orderly Room Trial Committee of the Service”, he stated.
According to him, four other personnel were discharged and acquitted, while two were redeployed to other locations.
“Eleven were issued warning letters and one was compulsorily retired. According to the Committee, 11 personnel are still awaiting trial.”
Akuneme added that the Comptroller-General of Immigration assured the general public that all offenders in the Service would be appropriately sanctioned.
“He is also urging members of the public to be vigilant and support the Service to deliver more on its mandate by contacting us for feedback, inquiries and complaints on any of these channels:(a) phone: +2348033074681; +2348021819988(b) twitter: @nigimmigration(c) email: [email protected]”, Akuneme added.
An earlier investigation by The ICIR revealed how Nigerians suffer frustration and extortion due to widespread corruption in the Immigration Service.
The report exposed the high level of racketeering, touting and other unprofessional conducts by personnel of the NIS.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.