Tragedy struck on Sunday as the bus conveying officers of Nigeria Immigration Service mainly from the band section was involved in a ghastly motor accident leading to the death of some officers.

It was gathered that the accident occurred along Kano-Zaria Road on Sunday when the officers were on their way back to Abuja from Kano after a Passing-Out-Parade (POP) at the Immigration Training School in Kano.

It was reliably gathered that the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, was at the training school for the commissioning and passing out parade of the 48th Superintendent Basic Course 2023.

A gory viral video shows the lifeless bodies of the affected immigration officers lying on the road as sympathizers were seen trying to revive those in a coma.

A report indicated that the officers were on their way back to Abuja from Kano after a Passing-Out-Parade (POP) at the Immigration Training School in Kano.

Reports claim that all the occupants of the 18-seater bus died on the spot.

Public Relations Officer of the Service, Dr Aridegbe Adedotun, did not respond to a call through his mobile phone or text message to confirm the incident.

However, the Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Bisi Kazeem, who confirmed the incident said the accident occurred at about 75klm from Kano along Zaria Road.

He, however, did not give details of the accident.

Meanwhile, the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, in her speech delivered at the passing out parade, charged officers and men of the service to shun corruption and unprofessional conduct that would undermine the ongoing reforms aimed at ensuring operational effectiveness and efficiency.

Adepoju gave the charge at the commissioning and passing out parade of the 48th Superintendent Basic Course 2023, at the Immigration Training School, Kano.

She noted that the event was a historic one as the passing out parade of the 48th superintendent basic course at exactly when the school is celebrating its 48th years anniversary and the service at its diamond jubilee.

According to her, the service has zero tolerance for any sharp practices, saying citizenship integrity is part of Nigeria’s Immigration service mandate and that officers must strike a balance between ethics and professionalism.

Adepoju said “I am delighted with the cadet’s performance, this is a mark of emphasis we placed on training and retraining the service personnel in line with the global best practice.

“Consequently the service has mapped out a plan that gives training institutions the consideration to attend capacity building training and courses to broaden their skills and knowledge as part of our commitment to ensure a better sense of direction for the service by making it responsive to the global migration dynamism and world security trends.

“As you are graduating today you should know that Citizenship integrity is part of the Nigeria Immigration service mandate, therefore you must strike a balance between ethics and professionalism in the use of the power of the state at your disposal while dealing with citizens, vulnerable and non-vulnerable migrants.

“I enjoin you to adhere to NIS Act, NIS manual and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) standards.

“The commandant has assured me of your character and conduct worthy enough to be deployed to the field, note that the core mandate of NIS is border security, while at the field I urge you to shun all forms of misdemeanor and corruption, the service has zero tolerance to any sharp practices that will undermine the effort of the service reforms on operational effectiveness and efficiency,” she said.

She congratulated the officers, saying she strongly believed that they would have passed through the expected rigours of paramilitary training that instilled a sense of discipline and commitment to duty. (Text, excluding headline: Nigerian Tribune)

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