A retired Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, David Paradang, told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday that he was not aware of the ill-fated recruitment exercise into the service which held on March 17, 2014, until he saw an advertisement to that effect.
Paradang said he was not informed by the then Minister of Interior, Abba Moro and the board of the NIS.
He said this while testifying as the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Moro and his co-accused on charges of fraud allegedly perpetrated in the recruitment exercise.
The witness said as the then head to the NIS at that time, he only became aware of the exercise when his attention was drawn to a publication on Sunday Trust newspaper of September 9, 2013, regarding it.
“As the then Comptroller General of the NIS, I was neither aware of the advertisement nor the recruitment exercise. So, it came to me as a surprise”, Paradang said.
The witness who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Aliyu Yusuf, said after seeing the advertisement, he placed a call to the Secretary of the board, one Dr. Attahiru and asked if the Immigration Service was recruiting.
He said Attahiru responded “yes” and that he further asked why, as the head of the organisation, he was not informed.
According to the witness, the response he got from Attahiru was that, he should not worry.
He added that he called two other board members of the NIS, both of whom, he said claimed they were not aware of the exercise.
Paradang testified that he wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Board, Dr. Attahiru, that same day, on September 9, 2013, expressing his dismay over the recruitment advertisement.
The defence counsel opposed the request by the prosecution to tender the said letter as exhibit.
One of the defence lawyers, Paul Erokoro (SAN), contended that though the document was certified, there was no evidence to show that the certification fee was paid.
Erokoro contended that being a public document, it was not admissible.
Other defence lawyers, Mr. Sunday Ameh (SAN) and Chief Chris Uche (SAN), also objected to the admissibility of the document on similar grounds.
In his response, the prosecuting counsel, Yusuf argued that the document was admissible on the grounds that it was relevant.
Yusuf also argued that the document was admissible by virtue of the provisions of Section 104 of the Evidence Act.
Justice Dimgba adjourned the trial till Friday for ruling on the admissibility of the document and for continuation of trial.