Breaking: EFCC Arrests Ex-Minister, Abba Moro, TwoOthers Over 2014 ImmigrationRecruitment Scam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
on Monday arrested a former Minister of Interior,
Abba Moro, over the Nigerian Immigration
recruitment scam in which no fewer than 20 job
seekers died.

Also arrested by the anti-graft agency were
former Permanent Secretary in the ministry,
Anaesthesia Nwaobia, and a deputy director who
allegedly facilitated the scam.
A source at the commission, who cannot be
named because she is not authorised to speak
on the matter, told PREMIUM TIMES the three
suspects were picked up in the evening.

“They were brought into the commission’s
headquarters today and will be arraigned on a
12-count charge in the Federal High Court Abuja
on Tuesday,” the source said.

Some of the charges against Mr. Moro and his
colleagues include obtaining by false pretence,
procurement offences, corrupt practices and
money laundering.

At least nine job seekers died on March 15, 2014
at the Abuja National Stadium while scrambling
to secure seats for a recruitment test into the
Nigerian Immigration Service.

The stampede ensued after the over 200,000 job
seekers scrambled through a poorly organized
barricade at the stadium.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, four applicants
died from the stampede while 12 others
sustained injuries and were rushed to Rivers
government-owned Braithwaite Memorial
Hospital.

After the March 15 tragedy, several Nigerians
demanded the resignation or dismissal of Mr.
Moro and the Comptroller-General of
Immigration, David Parradang, as well as their
criminal prosecution for involuntary homicide.

They were accused of putting in place a sham
recruitment process that enabled the interior
ministry to extort at least N520 million in
compulsory levy imposed on applicants.

The minister, who initially blamed impatience and
refusal by applicants to abide by instructions for
the tragedy, later accepted responsibility for the
incident.

He, however, refused to step down.
Speaking on a Channels TV’s breakfast
programme, Sunrise, on October 20, 2014, Mr.
Moro made it clear he would not resign, saying
he would rather stay put in office to clear the
mess caused by the incidence.

“The point at which we are now is not about
resignation. That time has gone,” Mr. Morro said
in response to a question over why he refused to
quit.

“At the time (people were calling for his
resignation), I think emotions were very high. I
was in the eye of a storm.

“At that time, a lot of options were on the table…
The issue is do you resign or do you stay to sort
out the problem that have been created?
“I decided that staying and mopping up the mess
caused by the lack of proper implementation of
our plans is better. That’s the point we are
now.”

The minister said Nigerians should consider the
tragedy as an accident which he too did not plan
for or envisage.

“I also have families. I didn’t set out on that
journey knowing that accident would occur that
would lead to the death of human beings.
“We took everything into proper perspective. If
we had succeeded, a few Nigerians would have
congratulated us for the job well done.”