Trail Reporters
Information available to our news desk, reveals that, the Rector of the Maritime Academy, Oron, Commodore. Duja Efedua (Rtd), has ordered for the arrest of six staffers of the institution for alleged information leakage.
We gathered that, the Federal Character Commission had demanded for the current staff strength of the academy, which the staff were working on, including nominal role documents to submit to the Rector, before he ordered their arrest, and are said to be staffers of the Human resources department of MAN.
Recollect that, the Rector had told the National Assembly committee on Maritime Education, Safety and Administration, that the academy carried out illegal employment of 83 staff in 2016. With this allegation, the House Committee Chairman, Hon. Mohammed Bago said the illegal staff should be sacked.
But contrary to his claims, investigations showed that, the last recruitment of the academy was in 2015, and documents from the Federal Ministry of Transport, Federal Character Commission and Salaries and Wages Commission was released backing up the approval of the employment of 46 and not 83 staff in 2016 as alleged by the Rector.
Angered by this discovery, with approved minutes of 2015 staff recruitment, Efedua was alleged to have marched to the personnel department with three armed Naval Officers to arrest the six senior staff of the department, and also called in the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oron.
We further gathered that, since the leak of those documents with the name of those employed, the Rector who has been embarrassed, had accused the staff of the personnel department of leaking information and allegedly working for the suspended Registrar, Mr Ante Mkpandiok.
The Rector, according to Police sources, had ordered their detention without bail, as the police accused the affected staff of obstruction of peace and fraud.
They were later admitted on bail late at night, after allegedly paying N20,000 each.
Efforts to speak with the Public Relations Officer of the Institution were not successful at the time of this report.
