…Junior NSCDC officers notice ‘mysterious’ lodgments in accounts
BY ORIAKU IJELE & ANDREW OROLUA
The fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is the beginning of wisdom to some people at the helm of affairs at the office of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
This is because ‘mysterious’ huge amounts of unsolicited funds are hitting the salary accounts of personnel of the agency, especially people in the lower cadre.
An officer who pleaded anonymity told Sunday Times that some NSCDC officials are suddenly seeing over N300,000, credited to their salary accounts without a subheading.
According to the source, the officers are confused about the funds secretly being lodged into their salary accounts without stating what the monies are for and are afraid of the development.
The source divulged that the staffers are confused about what they termed ‘strange addition on their salaries’.
READ ALSO: Christ Embassy announces date for 2024 Edition of..
It was gathered that some of the funds were later withdrawn while others are still lodged in those accounts.
A source revealed that some of the personnel are linking the development to what is going on in the Corps following the arrest and quizzing of over 20 senior officers of the organisation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
According to our source, some alleged corrupt officials said to be behind the contract scam at the NSCDC are hiding those monies.
The source disclosed that it’s a way to evade being grilled over non-payment of some staff emoluments and allowances, especially those that accrued following the recently-concluded elections.
Sources at the NSCDC said that the staff members were underpaid compared to staff members at other sister agencies.
Some are also believed to be allowances running into millions of naira due to them but denied them over the years.
The action according to our source was to quickly claim that they had paid some outstanding monies meant for either long standing arrears from transfer inconvenience or training.
“The monies had long been withheld from the officers who deserve them, but for the massive arrests and sudden investigations involving some senior officers by the EFCC, the monies apparently were being released to them suddenly”, revealed our source.
Recall that recently, the EFCC arrested six senior officers of the NSCDC over alleged ₦6 billion fraud and two days later another 20 senior officers and their contractors were apprehended.
It was gathered that the arrests followed an order from the NSCDC Commandant General, who was alleged to have directed the handover of the officers to the EFCC for interrogation.
The senior officers are currently being grilled by EFCC interrogators at the Commission’s headquarters, Jabi, Abuja.
One of the EFCC operatives who effected the arrests of the NSCDC officers said the officers were picked up on Monday on the order of the NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi.
However, another source disclosed that the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had on April 26, 2024, written a letter to the NSCDC CG, demanding the officers’ release for interrogation.
A staff of the NSCDC vowed that the NSCDC CG was not part of those arrested by the EFCC over the probed of the alleged N6bn fraud.
Meanwhile, 10 other senior officers of the NSCDC were equally invited over an alleged N7.5bn fraud.
According to the EFCC source, the anti-graft agency also invited 10 contractors linked with the alleged fraud.
The document of the letter by the EFCC, to the NSCDC requesting the officers involved were scheduled to be questioned by the EFCC from May 2, 2024, and beyond.
According to Sunday Times source, the NSCDC officers quizzed are Victor Olanrewaju Fayemi, Anthony Akpan Uwen, Patrick Babatunde, Comfort Danladi, Akibi Michael Olusola, Umaru Usman Karshi, Adewale Kukoyi, Joseph Ajayi Ibitulo, Mrs A.A. Jonathan, and Paul Ahepa.
According to source, “The EFCC is investigating the alleged diversion of N7.5bn by contractors working with the Commandant General of the NSCDC, Ahmed Audi.
“The funds shared to contractors’ accounts have been identified and linked to BDC operators, all of whom were invited and have been grilled by the EFCC interrogators.”
The source further noted that, “EFCC investigators discovered that payments were made to a total of 20 contractors, while the sum of N2bn was allocated to three major contractors each of whom own five companies. Each of the contractors received a retention fee of five per cent. The EFCC has sent invitation letters to the contractors.
“All the contractors have been interrogated except for the only woman amongst them who has been working tirelessly to avoid interrogation. The woman received over N1bn, and all the funds were discovered to have been converted to US dollars.”
The indicted contractors had made useful statements that led to the recovery of about N1bn by the EFCC.
“They confessed that they applied for jobs as contractors, only to learn that the jobs were already executed on their behalf by senior NSCDC officers.”
“It was discovered that at the NSCDC, these payments were meant for jobs that had already been executed, but the contractors whose companies’ names were attached to the contracts had not been paid,” the source said.
Sunday Times correspondent did seek explanations for these developments from the spokesperson of the agency, but he declined to comment and indeed cut the call after the reporter had introduced himself. Further calls and text messages were neither answered nor replied.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.