The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into the recruitment, distribution of staff quotas, and promotions made by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) “over the course of 10 years”.
The House of Representatives resolution calling for the investigation was passed during a plenary session in Abuja on Tuesday.
The session was chaired by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Idris Wasi in the absence of Parliament Speaker Femi Gbagapamila.
The House of Representatives’ decision followed a motion on a notification jointly conveyed by Awaji Enompic Abiante and Dominin Decor.
The investigation, which is set to be conducted by the House Committees on Interior, Federal Personal and Public Service Affairs, will last six weeks.
The motion reads in part: “The House of Representatives notes that the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) is primarily charged with the responsibility of maintaining peace and order, protecting public infrastructure and rescuing the civilian population during emergencies;
“Also notes that recent reports indicate that the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps has not adhered to the principles of federalism in its recruitment processes, corrupting the Corps with irregularities, extortion, nepotism and nepotism as well as securing convictions for erroneous officials;
“Recognizing that recent NSCDC recruitment exercises have been marred by nepotism and abuse of federal character principles, as management team used their positions and influence in higher positions of authority to recruit family members, the recruitment exercise reportedly took place unannounced with over 90 recruitment letters returned to headquarters from Imo State where those who were due to receive their letters did not attend and that these time slots were reported to belong to the indigenous Rivers;
“Recognizing the fact that in 2021, the Bauchi State Assembly Joint Committee on Security and Public Service led by The Honorable Sabu Baku Sade recommended outright dismissal of the recruitment process as fraudulent, which was adopted by the Bauchi State House of Representatives and reported the same to NSCDC Headquarters;
Conscious also of the judgment of the Sokoto State High Court which sentenced two Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps officials, Minasara Mallami and Emmanuel Salihu, respectively to fourteen years in prison for defrauding four persons of an amount of 1.9 million naira, under the pretext of securing jobs for them;
“Worried that this ugly primacy has become a recurring occurrence in NSCDC, and at present, Aboriginal people in other states are being recruited, promoted, and allocated in place of the Indigenous quota in Rivers State.”
