NDLEA sacks 35 for corruption, desertion

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has sacked 35 officers and men for alleged offences including corruption, dereliction of duty, desertion and colluding with drug traffickers.

Daily Trust reports that the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, who resumed in January this year, set up a committee to look at petitions against officers of the agency.

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It was reliably gathered that some of the petitions were from sister security agencies and the Nigerian public.

Sources told Daily Trust that prior to the appointment of Marwa, employment and appointment racketeering was being perpetrated by some top officials of the agency.

Our correspondent learnt that some of the drug dealers ‘paid heavily’ to get their ‘persons’  appointed and also lobbied for them to be posted to their areas of influence also known as ‘jurisdictions’ to facilitate their nefarious activities of drug peddling and trafficking.

The agency in June approved the immediate promotion of 3,506 officers and men to their next ranks, thus breaking the jinx of long years of stagnation of staff in the agency.

However, our correspondent learnt that the promotion came on the heels of the sacking of scores of indicted officers and men of the agency, founded wanting for one misdeed or another.

When contacted on the development, the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, denied that officers of the agency were colluding with drug barons or drug traffickers.

He however admitted that some officers were sanctioned by the agency for one offence or another.

According to him, 35 operatives, comprising 23 junior officers and 12 senior officers have disciplinary cases.

“Disciplinary cases do not necessarily mean cases of compromise. There are cases of alleged corruption, we also have cases of dereliction of duty and desertion,” Babafemi said.