By our reporter
The former boss of the Borno state Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) Mohammed Agalama has described as false allegations details leveled against him in a recent publication by Zagazola media network.
He said most of what was published by that online outfit were maliciously done to denigrate the command and his person because he was in charge of the station as at then and supervised the officer in question.
Agalama who spent only about two months in maiduguri before his sudden transfer to Kano stated that he was equally hunted because of his recent stands for equality when it comes to certain privileges among his officers and other sensitive issues in which he made pronouncements not very palatable to certain sections of the society.
In a strongly worded response to the publication, the spokesman of the NSCDC command James Bulus noted that most of the fundamental details of the report was a figment of the imagination of the writer.
He noted that the writer who did not balance his report by hearing the side of the command from his former boss over what happened listened to one side and deliberately went out to malign him without confirming what really happened within the period under review.
Bulus stated in a release made available to newsmen in Maiduguri that there were a lot of untruths inside the Njimtilo related report which was why the former NSCDC boss committee’s report has been forwarded to the National Headquarters of the Corp in Abuja, adding that justice will surely be done over the matter which painted the command in such a bad light by the publication.
Demand for redress
The release noted that the management respectfully requests that the publication issue a clarification acknowledging these inaccuracies and the misidentification of the officer involved.
“The management hereby advised that a fair and balanced account will restore public confidence in both the NSCDC and the media’s responsibility to report verified facts.” Said the spokesman.
Trouble actually started when the outfit reported that “a Maiduguri-based mechanical engineer name withheld who repairs heavy-duty trucks at Njimtilo alleged that essential spare parts worth over N800,000 were stolen from his workshop overnight.
“Days later, the owner was shocked to find the same spare parts inside the NSCDC outpost under officer Bulama’s custody.
“Instead of returning the recovered property, he reportedly demanded N500,000 as a ‘settlement’ before release. The victim offered N100,000, but the officer insisted on the full amount.
“Investigations revealed that mounting pressure from the NSCDC command forced the officer to return some of the items. However, four critical components valued at over N800,000 were missing. Bulama insisted these items were never recovered.
“Further probing uncovered that the missing parts had been sold, and N150,000 — reportedly the payment for the items — was transferred into the officer’s personal bank account.
“Following the escalation of the case to the Borno State NSCDC Commandant, Muhammad Hassan-Agalama, Bulama was relieved of his position and referred to a disciplinary committee.” Said the report.
Meanwhile, the National headquarters of the NSCDC will soon release the report of their findings of the alleged misconduct of the accused Bulama which caused the sudden transfer of his former boss.
