Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday in Abuja, quizzed former Comptroller-General (CG) of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. David Parradang, for about seven hours.
New Telegraph gathered that the embattled former NIS boss arrived at the complex at about 10a.m., and was immediately ushered into the interrogation room, where he answered questions on last year’s botched recruitment, which turned tragic. The source, who spoke in confidence, said Parradang was still being grilled as at 5p.m., when he left office.
He said: “All I can say is that he (Parradang) arrived for interrogation around 10a.m., and he was ushered into the interrogation room, where our crack team was already waiting.
“Honestly, I can’t say if he will stay the night with us, but as at 5p.m. or so, when I left the office, he was still facing interrogation.” Asked what his offence is, the source said: “I think, basically, it has to do with the ill-fated immigration recruitment early last year, where over 10 people were reported to have died. “The commission wants him to explain what happened, how much was released for the exercise, and whether due process was followed in the entire process leading to the failed process.”
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comment. President Muhammadu Buhari had suspended Parradang on August 21, and directed his deputy, Mr. Martin Abeshi, to act in his stead. Parradang made spirited efforts to save his job with the governor of his home state, Plateau, Mr. Simon Lalong, taking him to beg Buhari.
But the president stood his ground. Parradang’s leadership of the Immigration Service sparked national outcry on March 15, 2014 when 15 job applicants died in stampede during a recruitment test in designated centres across the country.
The tragedy was as a result of poor logistics resulting in overcrowding, stampede and exhaustion despite the fact that an agent commissioned by the Ministry of Interior collected N1,000 each from 700,000 applicants. About N1 billion was raised from the recruitment exercise.
The 700,000 applicants struggled for the 4,000 vacant positions. The Seventh Senate launched an inquiry into the tragedy without any report. On March 14, 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan gave N5 million each to the families of the 15 victims who lost their lives in the botched exercise.
The 15 families were also given 35 job vacancies. Parradang denied any role in the recruitment contract, saying the then Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, handled the deal.
On August 30, Moro revealed that corruption and indiscipline in the Immigration Service assumed alarming proportion under the leadership of Parradang. Moro stated that all his efforts as minister to sanitise the NIS were severally frustrated by the former Comptroller- General. The former minister stated that Parradang’s leadership disposition encouraged and promoted gross indiscipline.
New Telegraph
