SAN FRANCISCO, April 04, (THEWILL) – The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board, has suspended three senior Prisons officers, over the controversial release of former Adamawa governor, Bala Ngilari, recently jailed for corruption.
A statement by the spokesperson of Prisons, Francis Enobore, they were indicted for their complicity in the issuance of unauthorised medical report on Ngilari who is serving a five-year jail term in Yola prison.
The affected officers are Peter Tenkwa, the controller of Prisons for Adamawa State; Abubakar Abaka, the Deputy Comptroller; and, John Bukar, a Superintendent of Prisons.
The letter dated 3rd April, 2017 and signed by the Director/Secretary of the Board, Sunday Ogu, approved the suspension of the officers pending the outcome of all necessary investigations into the matter.
The Zone ‘C’ Coordinator of the Nigerian Prisons Service, ACG Bala Isgogo had last week ordered the immediate removal of the officer in-charge of Yola Prison, Abaka and a nurse, Bukar over their complicity in the unauthorised medical report on Ngilari.
The two officers were also issued queries for their roles in the bail granted to Ngilari on health grounds by the court after he had been jailed by an Adamawa State High Court.
THEWILL recalls that Justice Nathan Musa of the Yola High Court had on March 6, sentenced Ngilari to five years in prison without an option of fine, for violating the Public Procurement Act in the award of contract for the procurement of 25 vehicles which were for commissioners purchased at the cost of N167 million declaring that due process was not followed in the transaction.
Ngilari, having appealed the sentence, went back to the same court that convicted him, and asked for bail, pending the determination of his appeal which was granted by Justice Musa based on a medical report from the Prison to the Court claiming that Ngilari was sick and would require medical attention in a Canadian Hospital in the United Arab Emirates.
Shortly after the decision of the court was reported, Tenkwa had alleged that the letter used by the convicted former governor to secure the bail was fraudulent insisting that he was not aware of the letter and had communicated to the prison headquarters.
The prisons service investigated the source of the letter and declared that Abaka and Bukar did not have the mandate to issue the medical report in which the court based its decision to grant bail to the convict.
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