The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, and the Secretary of the Civil Defense, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), Rtd. Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin, are expected to appear before the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, tomorrow (Monday) morning for arraignment on two criminal counts bordering on perversion of justice and conspiracy to commit a felony.
According to official notices issued by the court, Suit No. NICN/ABJ/CR/123/2025 — Dr. Badiru Adeyemi Oluwafemi vs Nigeria Immigration Service & 3 Others has been listed for arraignment and hearing on December 1, 2025, before Hon. Justice S.O. Adeniyi in Court 5.
A related suit, NICN/ABJ/118/2025, filed by the same complainant, also comes up the same day for hearing.
The criminal complaint was initiated by Dr. Badiru Adeyemi Oluwafemi, an officer of the NIS, who alleges that senior officials of the Service & Board obstructed justice which the Court gave him, regarding his long-running dispute with the organisation and unlawfully interfered with his legal rights to promotion.
Dr. Badiru’s ordeal, according to his testimony, began on 30 July 2019 while he was on duty at the Ikoyi Passport Office in Lagos. He claims that a senior officer by name Umar Nasir Mohammed, then a Superintendent of Immigration, instructed him to breach official protocol in his favour. When he declined, citing ethical concerns and poor network availability, the senior officer allegedly became verbally aggressive and eventually assaulted him publicly in the presence of passport applicants.
Badiru says the blow to his face rendered him unconscious and caused internal injuries. He was reportedly rejected by multiple hospitals before being admitted to the Military Hospital, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. He alleges that the Immigration Service abandoned him during the medical emergency and did not offer any support despite his condition.
According to Badiru, after securing a police medical form and returning to the office to inform his superiors of his referral to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, he was arrested, detained, and issued a query for allegedly giving “official information” to the public because the incident had been reported by The Guardian newspaper.
He further claims that he was transferred from Lagos to Abuja, denied access to follow-up medical care, and subjected to prolonged disciplinary measures. Although the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee eventually cleared him of wrongdoing, Umar – the alleged assailant was pardoned, while Badiru’s promotions were suspended for years.
In Suit No. NICN/ABJ/136/2023, the National Industrial Court ruled in Badiru’s favour, declaring that the disciplinary action taken against him by the NIS violated Public Service Rule 030302(13), which requires that disciplinary matters be concluded within 60 days except where criminal elements are involved.
The court held that the NIS acted wrongfully and unlawfully and ordered the Service to promote Badiru to the rank of Chief Superintendent of Immigration, or to a higher rank equivalent to the one being hung by his peers at the time the judgment of Court was delivered, within seven days after the Court judgment; and permit him to sit for the subsequent promotion examinations, which was the 2024 promotion exercise.
Badiru sat for the 2024 promotional examination and passed, however when it was time to issue him promotion letter, Kemi Nanna Nandap – the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service wrote a letter to the CDCFIB, and recommended that Badru’s year 2024 promotion be witheld until he withdraw all the court cases which he has instituted against Umar Nasir Mohammed and the NIS.
The criminal charges against the CG and the Board Secretary stem from allegations that the Comptroller-General of NIS wrote to the Board, falsely claiming that Badiru had reached an out-of-court settlement with NIS and had agreed to withdraw all his ongoing cases. Based on this alleged misrepresentation, Badiru’s year 2024 promotion result was reportedly withheld.
Badiru contends that the act of the CGIS constituted a deliberate act of obstruction of justice and a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed right of access to the courts. Citing Section 126(1) of the Criminal Code Act 2004 and Sections 88 and 90 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, he filed a direct criminal complaint before the National Industrial Court.
Upon reviewing the evidence, the court issued criminal summons compelling the Comptroller-General and the Board Secretary to appear for trial.
The much-anticipated arraignment is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on December 1, 2025, before Hon. Justice S.O. Adeniyi at Court 5, National Industrial Court, Garki Area 11, Abuja.
The proceedings are expected to attract national attention, given the seniority of the officials involved and the broader implications for accountability, workers’ rights, and administrative justice within Nigeria’s paramilitary institutions.
