ABUJA: The Nigeria Correctional Service NCoS has dismissed an officer, ASC Efe Onakpoya, for taking unauthorized pictures of an inmate and uploading them to the internet.
The dismissal followed a disciplinary investigation by the Service, which is also refuting what it calls a “misleading” narrative about the incident.
NCoS spokesman, Abubakar Umar issued a statement to counter reports alleging that the officer was a whistleblower who was dismissed after reporting that a fellow officer had taken an inmate out of the Afikpo custodial center for a sexual encounter.
“The Service wishes to categorically state that this report is misleading and intended to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Correctional Service,” Umar said.
According to the official account provided by the NCoS, Onakpoya was found to have committed an act “unbecoming of a public officer” during a disciplinary inquiry.
His offenses included taking unapproved photographs of inmate Ibuchi Okoro Eze within the barracks of the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Afikpo, Ebonyi State and posting them online.
Umar also revealed that the dismissed officer “also made malicious allegations against the service,” including the fabricated claim that an inmate had been removed from the facility for conjugal intimacy with a lover.
The spokesman concluded by reaffirming the NCoS’s commitment to maintaining “the highest standards of discipline, integrity, and professionalism,” adding that it will not tolerate any behavior that compromises these core values.
