TARABA INDIGENE NABBED IN ATTEMPT TO INFILTRATE ADAMAWA CIVIL SERVICE RECRUITMENT
By Fidelis Jockthan
A clandestine attempt by a Taraba State indigene to fraudulently gain employment into the Adamawa State Civil Service was foiled on Monday by an undercover journalist.
The individual, identified as Jeffrey Milan Tino, 34, was intercepted while trying to secure a crucial “Adamawa State Indigene Certificate,” a mandatory requirement for the final stage of the state’s ongoing civil service recruitment.
Investigations reveal that Tino’s mission was facilitated by a female accomplice, whose name has been withheld, claiming to be an employee of the Adamawa State Government.
She presented Tino’s documents to an official at the Office of the Head of Civil Service.
The submitted documents, now alleged to be forged, included:
· A Statutory Declaration of Age stating Tino was born in Badagry on March 10, 1986.
· A First School Leaving Certificate from the Adamawa State Ministry of Education, dated April 5, 2000, which curiously listed his Local Government as Karim-Lamido in Taraba State.
· An application for an Adamawa State Indigene Certificate from Yola-North Local Government Area indicating JENJO by tribe.
The scheme unraveled when the official in charge of issuing the indigene certificates, Mr. Abubakar Baachi, resisted intense pressure from the accomplice.
He insisted that a genuine and verifiable Primary School Certificate was a prerequisite for issuance, a requirement the presented documents could not meet.
The female accomplice fled the scene upon realizing the operation had been exposed.
The undercover journalist subsequently captured all the alleged fake documents as evidence.
When contacted, the Adamawa State Head of Service, Pharmacist Isa Shehu Ardo Mini commended the journalist for his vigilance.
“This act has reawakened the consciousness of the recruitment committee,” Shehu stated. “We will implement more cogent measures to fortify the process against such infiltrations.”
Echoing this sentiment, the Permanent Secretary for Establishment in the Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Oliver Gani, acknowledged that such incidents, while unfortunate, are not uncommon in large-scale recruitments.
“We are aware of such phenomena,” Gani said. “Let me assure the public that the system, though not entirely perfect, has checks and balances.
This particular infiltration has been tackled, and we are strengthening our mechanisms to prevent a recurrence.”
The Adamawa State Government has reiterated its commitment to a transparent and merit-based recruitment process exclusively for its indigenes.
Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
