The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed three personnel and sanctioned 22 others for gross misconduct.
The action, LEADERSHIP gathered, was part of efforts to ensure discipline of personnel and entrench international correctional best practices.
This was contained in a statement issued by the spokesman of the Service, Abubakar Umar, an assistant controller, on Thursday in Abuja.
According to AC Umar, the letter issued by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), also had a total of 20 personnel discharged and acquitted of various offences which they were accused of, while one officer who was previously suspended was reinstated after the review exercise.
Also, a total of three personnel were compulsorily retired, six personnel had their ranks reduced, while 13 personnel attracted either verbal or plain warning.
The statement explained that the officers were sanctioned for misconducts ranging from trafficking in contrabands to unauthorised absence from duty, stealing, negligence of duty, criminal conspiracy, general inefficiency, falsification of results, as well as aiding and abetting.
According to the statement, the offences constitute threats to security of correctional facilities, and can jeopardise public safety and national security.
The statement, which maintained that the NCoS will leave no stone unturned to ensure that ‘bad eggs’ were flushed out of the system, assured that the Service will continue to perform its statutory mandates with integrity and ethical standards in line with international best practices.
The statement read in part, “In a bid to maintain high standard of discipline and professionalism we have reviewed various cases of unprofessional conducts, wrongdoings, improper behaviours and serious misconducts of erring personnel, resulting to the dismissal of three (3) personnel, including a controller of Corrections, for various misconducts.”
It added that, “These sanctions are in line with the zero tolerance on staff misconducts, a cardinal mantra of the Controller -general of Corrections, Haliru Nababa and targeted towards ridding the service of unscrupulous elements and misfits, so as to improve professionalism.
“The Service has the onerous mandate of keeping custody of the legally interned in a safe and humane condition as well as reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating them back to the society as responsible citizens.
“The general public is also requested to support the Nigerian Correctional Service in its efforts towards effective offenders’ management so as to promote public safety and national security in general.”
