NSCDC arrests 12 over alleged extortion of JAMB candidates

By Dan Opara

Imo command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested twelve business centre operators for allegedly extorting candidates of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

NSCDC commandant in Imo , Mr Ibrahim Raji , confirmed the arrest to newsmen while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Owerri on Friday.

Raji said that the suspects were charging exorbitant fees ranging from N7,000 to N8,000 for JAMB registration as against the N4,700 approved by the Federal Government t (FGN.

He also said that the arrest of the suspects who operated in different parts of the state would serve as deterent to others perpetuating similar acts.

The commandant further said that the President Muhammadu Buhari led government frowns at corruption at all levels adding that the suspects would soon be charged to court.

” FG reduced JAMB registration fee to N4,700 but some of these centres charge much more and that is corruption, a crime to which the FG takes serious exception.

” We hope that the arrest of these ones will deter their cohorts because we will charge them to court very soon, ” he said.

One of the suspects, Mrs Ngozi Eke said that the extra charge was to aid the candidates in generarating E-mail accounts and filling the online JAMB registration form.

Another suspect, Mr Innocent Dike who manages a tutorial centre admitted to charging above the official price.

According to him, the extra charge was part of payment for tutorials and for computer literacy classes so as to prepare them for the Computer Based Tests (CBTs).