Buhari suspends Nigeria Immigration boss, David Parradang
Mr. Parradang was asked to immediately proceed on suspension Friday while the service’s deputy comptroller general, Martin Abeshi, takes over, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
It was not immediately clear why Mr. Parradang was sanctioned.
However, the Nigerian government this week launched an investigation into how a wanted suspected terrorist was granted a Nigerian visa in Lebanon to visit Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulus Lolo, said Wednesday the suspected terrorist was of “Palestinian extraction and resides in Lebanon”.
According to reports, the cleric, Ahmad al-Assir, was arrested by Lebanese authorities as he attempted to leave Lebanon to Nigeria via Cairo early on Aug. 15.
He was reportedly arrested while attempting to travel with a fake Palestinian passport and a valid Nigerian Visa at the Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport in Lebanon.
President Buhari had immediately ordered an investigation into the matter, and it is unclear whether Mr. Parradang’s suspension has any link with the matter.
Also, the Immigration Service under Mr. Parradang’s leadership sparked national outrage in 2014 after nearly 20 job applicants died in stampede during an Immigration recruitment test.
Ahead of the examinations, an agent commissioned by the Ministry of Interior, extorted N1000 from each of over 700,000 applicants.
Despite raising nearly a N1 billion, logistics for the exercise were dismal resulting in the deaths.
Mr. Parradang denied any role in the contract. He said the Interior minister, Abba Moro, handled the deal.
An investigation launched by the Senate into the matter, ended without a report till date.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect the ongoing investigation into the issuance of visa to a suspected terrorist in Lebanon
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