More than a
year after being enmeshed in age falsification scandal, Mr. Ahmed Ja'afaru, the
Controller General (CG) of the Nigerian prisons service (NPS) has
remained in
office. The damning allegation has continued to rage a year after it was first
reported by SaharaReporters, an online news medium, owing to the reluctance of
the Federal government to investigate the scandal and Ja'afaru's blatant
refusal to clear the air.
Ja'afaru, an
indigene of Kebbi State and a graduate of history was appointed by President
Buhari in May 2016 to succeed Mr. Peter Ekpendu, the immediate past CG of
Prisons. Ja'afaru is being accused of falsifying his age in the service records
in order to extend his retirement age. Ja'afaru was due to retire in July 2017,
until sometimes in 2015, shortly before his appointment as CGP, he altered his
date of birth from July 1957 to July 1959, in clear breach of the public
service rules and regulations. The record in the NPS nominal roll showed that Ja'afaru altered his date of birth from July
21, 1957, to July 21, 1959, thereby extending his retirement age by two years.
His profile published in the 2010 edition of Advanced Command Course II booklet
also confirmed July 21, 1957, as his original date of birth before it secretly
altered.
According to Saharareporters, Public
service rules and regulations make it compulsory for public officials to retire
after 35 years in service or on
attainment of 60 years of age or whichever one comes first.
More than a
year after being enmeshed in this scandal, Ja'afaru has blatantly ignored
questions being raised on the alleged falsification of his age. Sources within
the service have revealed that Ja'afaru has been emboldened to ignore the
weighty allegation against him because of his closeness to the Minister of
Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazzau, who facilitated his appointment in the
first place. More curious and worrisome is the deafening silence by the
Nigerian presidency on the allegation, more than one year after it broke out in
the media.
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