By Our Correspondent in Minna
The Police in Niger state have arrested a senior civil servant, Mohammed Ndanusa,for allegedly smuggling the name of his younger brother, a commercial motorcyclist into government payroll and collected his salary for 11 years.
The suspect, who worked with the state Ministry of Health as at the time of the incident, was said to have been collecting salaries purportedly for his younger brother,Tanimu Ndanusa since 2009 until recently when he was exposed.
The suspect was also said to have arranged sustained promotion of Tanimu, from Grade Level 10 when his name fraudulently appeared on the state payroll in the ministry, several times till current Grade Level 14 when the bubble bursted.
The Reporters,an online publication gathered that the allegation against Ndanusa became exposed as he allegedly arranged for his brother, Tanimu to appear for physical screening/staff verification for all workers.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adamu Usman confirmed the case while speaking with journalists in Minna.
Giving a vivid account of the modus operandi of the suspect for 11 years, the commisdioner of police said that when Tanimu appeared before the verification committee, he could not give convincing account of himself as a worker on the state payroll of the state government.
Usman further told journalists that when Tanimu appeared before the committe, he was not with any document or credential as other workers and also could not express himself in common English, as a senior civil servant on Level 14.
He said this drama ensued as he was being interviewed, adding that his action prompted members of the screening committee to call the police for the arrest of the two brothers.
The suspect, according to the police boss, later confessed to the crime, saying that he fraudulently smuggled the name of his younger brother into the state payroll, from Grade level 10 in 2009 and consistently ensured his promotion three times till Grade Level 14.
The police commissioner said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.
