The federal government has warned the 2,000 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) applicants protesting against screening to report on Monday for the exercise or forget employment.
The 2,000 dismissed recruits had been protesting at the National Assembly and the Ministry of Interior since 2015 for their reinstatement. Their protest, however, took a different dimension last Monday when they joined members of the Bring Back Our Girls(BBOC) movement to march to the presidential villa to demand their reinstatement.
They were recruited by a Presidential Committee set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2105 following the tragedy that marred the March 2014 recruitment exercise. Many candidates died and others sustained injuries during the recruitment exercise.
The Comptroller General (CG) of NIS, Muhammed Babadede who spoke to newsmen on the issue, insisted it would go ahead with the re-screening of the 2,000 dismissed immigration recruits despite their continued protest.
Babadede said that the screening of the dismissed โapplicantsโ whose names were earlier published in newspapers would take place as scheduled at the NIS Headquarters, Abuja from August 29- September 4.
He explained that the proposedรฝ background checks on the โapplicantsโ which included security clearance, drug test, certificate verification and age on rank were mandatory before any employment into the NIS.
His words: โThe background checks are a normal practice globally when recruiting personnel into military and paramilitary agencies.
โLet me say that failure to submit oneself for screening would be regarded as withdrawal of interest in the recruitment exercise
โThe committee has no power to recruit, they were just to assist. The recruitment was done illegally.
โWe are doing test. We cannot give arms to officers when they are under drugs.
โThen we are putting our country our people in danger. The board sat down three months ago and decided that any officer who is coming into the service will be based on the implementation of age โon-rank policy, security clearance, Drug test and certificate verification. That is what happens in the military.
โI cannot understand why the applicants are complaining. It means they have something to hide.
โAnybody who did not come for the screening, the person has screened him or herself out of the job.
โWe are following due process. If we find you as a drug addict then a letter of advice will be given to you to go to drug law enforcement agency for rehabilitation.โ
He went on: โIf we find that you have a fake certificate then we hand you over to the police.
โMajority of the applicants will come for screening we are sure. They were few people who probably have fake certificates and drug issue attracting attention that they do not want to be screened.
โWe are certain that only a very few from the 2000 applicants have mobilised the large numbers against the government.
โHowever, we will continue with the screening on the published lists. We will be professional. We will be fair. This I promise. But they must be screened.โ
He said that the exercise was not a fresh recruitment and urged members of the public not to forward any employment application to the NIS.
