Jennifer Y Omiloli
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammad Babandede, said that all Nigeria Immigration Service officers and people are required to undergo drug test to determine their mental alertness while in service.
He disclosed this on Saturday, during the passing-out parade of the 3rd Conversion Course of 509 graduands at the Immigration Training School, Kano.
The immigration boss said the drug-test will be for both senior and junior officers, including himself.
His statement in part: “the first stage will not be Infinitum, it will be findings, and I will start with myself. That is why I said that the drug test starts with me. I will be the first person to do the test, others will follow.
“It is not only that we are Nigerians, but we have also been empowered with weapons to protect our country and territorial borders. If we don’t have a strategy to remove the syndrome of drug abuse from our officers, it will be very dangerous for us.
“I hope all other law enforcement will do the same. You cannot give arms to people who take drugs. So, the best thing you can do is to start checking the situation.”
“When we found you to have drugs in your blood, we will rehabilitate you, we will guide you on how to stop it. We will conduct another test, and I assure you by the time when we do three tests if the person is not changing, it means, that person cannot work with us.
“If in the first test we carry out and we find out that you have high blood in you, we cannot give you weapons. You cannot have contact with weapons at all—this is very important in terms of national security because the government buys arms for us and we cannot use the same arms against our people—that is fundamental.
“You know, President Muhammadu Buhari just inaugurated a Committee on drug abuse. We are Nigerians. Every immigration officer is a Nigerian. We are around 28, 000 immigration officers who are all Nigerians.”
