What is the worst possible thing that could happen to a public servant who refused to break protocol or do what is unlawful because a superior requested it? For Yemi Badru, a Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) staff who stood his ground on doing what is right in 2019, the NIS stalled his career progression to the extent of refusing to obey the rulings of the National Industrial Court.
In December, the National Industrial Court ruled that the NIS promoted Badru within seven days of its ruling and compensated him with N1.2 million. This was after the court found that the NIS had been unfair to him, but despite this order, Badru continued to request justice.
PERSECUTED FOR BEING LAW ABIDING
Nasir Umar Mohammed, the then personal assistant to the Passport Comptroller and Badru’s senior colleague at the Ikoyi Passport Office in Lagos, slapped Badru several times in front of passport applicants because he would not breach protocol on July 31, 2019.
READ MORE: Immigration Denies Officer Promotion 3 Times for Following Due Process in Passport Issuance
Badru said that he suspected Umar wanted him to help an applicant avoid waiting in line. But he would not discard the 37 other applicants in the queue.
“I told him I was still going to do my job regardless. But he didn’t like the statement. He first cursed me, but when he noticed I was unbothered, he slapped me several times. I later suffered a nosebleed because of the slaps,” Badru told FIJ.
After the incident, the Lagos State Command of the NIS reached out to Badru with a letter requesting he forgive Umar. He said that the command also recommended a three-week suspension for Umar, but this penalty was never enforced.
Badru would later learn that the NIS got incensed after learning that the assault incident received media coverage from The Punch and The Guardian. The height of their annoyance, according to Badru, was when Badru took the matter to the National Industrial Court. This move got him transferred from the Lagos office to the Abuja office.
READ MORE: Immigration Officer Who Refused to Bend Passport Issuance Protocol Has Not Been Promoted in 4 Years
“In the transfer letter, they wrote that I had requested to be transferred and, as a result, I would not get any allowance. It was also stated in the letter that I enjoyed my annual leave. Since then, I haven’t written a promotional test or been promoted, but I didn’t request this,” Badru said.
“I began to ask if reporting an assault to the police made it public, but no one could answer me. I told the disciplinary committee I had not provided any official information to the press. But the committee said they would make peace between me and Umar.”
NIS DENIES BADRU PROMOTION BUT SHIELDS UMAR
Badru told FIJ that the NIS has denied him promotion several times while Umar has been promoted after the incident at least twice. He claimed that his name had been omitted from at least four promotion eligibility lists since his transfer in 2019.
He said efforts to hold Umar accountable have faced significant obstacles, despite the Ministry of Justice filing two charges against Umar, including assault.
READ MORE: Immigration Transfers Officer, Denies Him Promotion for Following Due Process in Passport Issuance
Badru also went to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to see how they could help him get justice, and they assured him that they would take action.
In August 2021, Badru met with an investigative team in Panti, Lagos, where they demanded N50,000 to investigate Umar, his assailant.
Two months later, the team in Panti could not give him the findings of their reports and has been reluctant to arrest Umar, even though the Ministry of Justice ordered his arrest.
The court’s order
NIS REFUSES TO OBEY THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT
In 2023, Badru said the former comptroller of immigration allowed him to sit for a promotion exam after hearing his plight. It was his first promotional exam since 2019. He passed and was promoted to the rank of superintendent of immigration.
A week after the exam, in December 2023, the National Industrial Court, before whom Badru had filed a petition challenging the legality of the disciplinary action the NIS had commenced against him since 2019, ruled in his favour.
The court ruled that the disciplinary action taken since August 27, 2019, is in contravention of Section 030307, Subsection 13 of the public service rule, stating that the action is unlawful and unconstitutional and a violation of his right to dignity and, therefore, null and void.
READ MORE: Immigration Officer Umar Mohammed Was Suspended in 2019 for Slapping a Colleague. Till Date, he Hasn’t Served It
The court also ruled that the disciplinary action taken was dismissed and that the NIS should give him a sum of N1.2 million. It also upheld that they promoted him within seven days to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Immigration or an equivalent of the rank of his mates at the time of the ruling, but neither of these two rulings has been obeyed.
“In line with the dictates of the court, I wrote the NIS several letters requesting the compliance of the judgment of the court, which to date hasn’t been obeyed. They haven’t done anything,” Badru told FIJ.
“When the current comptroller heard of the ruling, she directed full compliance, but to my surprise, the NIS’s legal director removed my name from the list of officers to be promoted. All of this is because I spoke up.”
FIJ called Kenneth Udo, the NIS Public Relations Officer (PRO), for comments but did not answer his calls.
Udo had not responded to FIJ’s text since Friday.
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