NDLEA's whistle blower demands compensation

NDLEA'S WHISTLE-BLOWER DEMANDS COMPENSATION

A staff of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Musa Ahmed Yusuf who exposed the financial impropriety of the Agency's Chairman, retired Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah has called on the Federal Government to compensate him for his revelation. According to the officer, part of the compensation being demanded is the forensic investigation of the Agency's account in the past two years as well as a cash reward for bringing the financial recklessness to the fore. 

Among other revelations by the whistle-blower is that Abdallah has criminally amassed over 528 million naira from the monthly allocation of the Agency through inappropriate foreign travels that did not add value to the Agency. The management was also accused of providing the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand naira (N130,000) only to commanders in two years; failure to effect overdue promotion, lack of life insurance policy, the absence of medical care poor welfare package and lack of motivation. 

The above situation has led to the death of sixty officers who are yet to be paid their paltry severance benefits thus making life unbearable for their spouses and children. The souls of late officers and their neglected families are crying for help daily. Officers are greatly displeased with his abnormal level of hard-heartedness and lack of direction. There is nothing more demoralising to officers than the truth of neglect for their families and next of kin when they eventually die in active service. There is palpable and justifiable fear that the Agency will suffer more irredeemable loss if Abdallah is not changed. 

Under Abdallah, the numbers of widows, widowers and orphans are increasing daily yet he remained callous. The victims of his tyranny and misrule that have died without any succour include, three (3) Narcotic Assistants NASS II, thirteen (13) Narcotic Agents NA, three (3) Senior Narcotic Agents SNA, nine (9) Chief Narcotic Agents CNA and six (6) Assistant Narcotic Superintendent ASN II. Others are eight (8) Deputy Narcotic Superintendent DSN, nine (9) Superintendent of Narcotics, six (6) Chief Superintendent of Narcotics CSN and one (1) Assistant Commander of Narcotics ACN. While writing this report another gallant officer, Aminat Hassan, a Superintendent of Narcotics died. If she was given her proper placement, she ought to be a Deputy Commander of Narcotics but Abdallah has stagnated her. The pain and frustration coupled with the financial hardship are killing officers daily. The implication is that all these officers have died in lower ranks than expected, thus they have been robbed of their full benefits in terms of money and honour. Over fifty officers have thrown in the towel as a result of hopelessness, frustration and extreme despair within the past two years. 

Abdallah has left major cracks in the partnership walls between the Agency and international partners. Key collaborators like the United States Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) among others are seemingly not comfortable with the state of affairs in the NDLEA. Some years ago, Nigeria used to record major successes on the strength of international cooperation but Abdallah has completely reversed these gains. Abdallah treacherously ignored the compelling evidence provided by the United States government against senator Buruji Kashamo for personal reasons. This was the first integrity test that Abdallah failed thus exposing his skewed personality and posture in fighting the drug war. 

The recent presentation of vehicles to NDLEA by the United States has again exposed the failure of Abdallah. This is because Abdallah is yet to assign all eleven vehicles donated to the Agency by the United States in May 2016. Abdallah only gave out the buses meant for Tactical Unit leaving all Hilux vehicles for special commands unassigned for personal reasons. Trouble started for Abdallah when the United States government discovered that the vehicles purchased with American taxpayers money have been abandoned at the same point where they were presented to the press in May 2016 at the Ikoyi office. l challenge him to provide evidence of allocating the vehicles. Abdallah's refusal to assign vehicles donated by the United States government especially when the commands they are meant for have no operational vehicles remains a puzzle? 

Here are a few questions that will expose his maladministration and financial impropriety. How many times have you travelled abroad since you became Chairman? What is the cost of such trips? What value have the foreign travels added to the Agency? Why did you refuse to harmonise officers? How much have you paid to officers that died in the past two years? Why do you spend money meant for the entire Agency as your personal allocation? It is obvious that Abdallah has no satisfactory answers to these questions.

Musa Ahmed Yusuf, a Deputy Superintendent of Narcotics (DSN) writes from the Ikoyi office of the NDLEA in Lagos.