NIS Boss, CDCFIB Secretary face fresh trouble as Court insists on probe

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has shifted the arraignment of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nandap, and the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), Maj-Gen Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), to March 31, 2026, pending the conclusion of a police investigation earlier ordered by the court.

Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi, sitting in Court 5 of the NICN in Abuja, ruled on Monday that the proper process required the submission of a police investigation report before the defendants could be invited to take their pleas.

Both officials are facing a two-count criminal complaint bordering on perversion of justice and conspiracy to commit a felony.

During the hearing, prosecuting counsel A.M. Aduku informed the court that the defendants had been personally served with criminal summons and that the matter was ripe for arraignment.

However, Justice Adeniyi restated that she had previously directed the police to investigate the allegations and present their findings before the commencement of trial.

The prosecutor objected and urged the court to proceed with the arraignment, but the judge dismissed his submission and reaffirmed her earlier order, fixing March 31, 2026, for the presentation of the police report.

Counsel for the second defendant also attempted to delay proceedings by claiming his client was not personally served, but court records confirmed the contrary.

The judge noted that both defendants were duly served and that none of them had filed any defence processes, objections, or responses since the criminal summons was issued.

The charges stem from a direct criminal complaint filed by an NIS officer, Dr Badiru Adeyemi Oluwafemi, who accused senior officials of the service of obstructing justice and frustrating his career progression.

His ordeal dates back to July 30, 2019, at the Ikoyi Passport Office in Lagos, where he alleged that a senior officer, Umar Mohammed, then a Superintendent of Immigration, ordered him to violate official protocol.

When he refused, Mohammed allegedly assaulted him publicly. Dr Badiru said he briefly lost consciousness, sustained internal injuries, and after several hospitals declined to admit him, he was eventually treated at the Military Hospital, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.

On returning to inform his command of his medical referral to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, he was arrested, queried, and accused of leaking official information after Newsmen reported the attack.

He was transferred from Lagos to Abuja, allegedly denied medical follow-up, and subjected to prolonged disciplinary processes.

Although the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee eventually cleared him, his promotion was withheld, while the officer accused of assaulting him was reportedly pardoned.

In Suit NICN/ABJ/136/2023, the NICN ruled that the NIS violated civil service disciplinary procedures, ordered his promotion, and directed that he be allowed to participate in the 2024 promotion examinations, which he passed.

However, instead of issuing his promotion letter, the Comptroller-General of NIS, Kemi Nandap, allegedly wrote to the CDCFIB recommending that his promotion be suspended until he withdraws all his cases against the service and the officer who assaulted him.

Dr Badiru maintains that the letter falsely claimed he had reached an out-of-court settlement.

He argues that the action constitutes obstruction of justice and violates his constitutional right of access to the courts.

His petition, filed under Section 126(1) of the Criminal Code Act and Sections 88 and 90 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, led the court to issue criminal summons against Nandap and the Board Secretary.

In a related development, Justice Rakiya Haastrup of the NICN has commenced contempt proceedings against five senior officials of the NIS and CDCFIB for allegedly refusing to comply with an earlier judgment delivered on December 11, 2023.

Those named in the contempt proceedings include CG Kemi Nandap, ACG AbdulRaheed, Janet Awanem, Maj-Gen Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), and Yahaya Adaramola.

The contempt case has been adjourned to December 17, 2025, following a request by the defendants for more time to comply with the court’s order.

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