The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed a media report alleging that officers in the service were compelled to pay N350,000 for the issuance of training certificates.
The Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Abubakar Umar, who dismissed the report in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, also denied that any management staff described the Service’s cooperative society as a “cash cow.”
Umar described the allegations published by Lazeera News as misleading, baseless, and aimed at misinforming the public while undermining the integrity of the Service.
According to him, training and retraining of officers remain a core component of the NCoS professional development mandate.
Regarding the cooperative society, the NCoS PRO explained that the body serves as a fallback welfare system for retired and deceased personnel.
Umar, however, said that dismissed staff also receive their entitlements upon disengagement, maintaining that all payments of entitlements to beneficiaries were presently up to date.
He further stated that the cooperative also operated a microfinance bank that provided a financial cushion for officers, as well as hospitality initiatives, such as the establishment of COCOS Hotel.
