NIS officer who rejected N10m bribe deserves the encomiums and gifts showered on him
It is not all the time that we hear good news, especially that having to do with integrity. This explains why we celebrate the few people who exhibit such tendency. We have to single out such people for special recognition, first to appreciate them and second, to encourage others to emulate them.
This must have been Governor Alex Otti鈥檚 reason for publicly commending a Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) officer, Ugochukwu Orji, who rejected a N10 million bribe offered by a native doctor accused of ritual killings.
The Abia State governor chose the occasion of the visit to him by a 30-man delegation of the organisers and sponsors of the Oha Isiala Ngwa Grand Civic Reception held in his honour to commend the NIS officer.
鈥淚 have always made this point that we are straightforward people, we are not criminals. We don鈥檛 steal, we don鈥檛 cheat. Of course, out of every 12, there must be a Judas. Sometimes the Judas is so loud that he drowns the good jobs of the other 11,鈥 Otti said in a statement by his spokesperson, Njoku Ukoha.
Otti said that Abia people are industrious and they don鈥檛 like to depend on handouts for survival, but would rather work to earn a decent living. This is why they would reject gifts from questionable sources.
An apparently impressed Governor Otti was not done yet. He noted that what Orji did was a reflection of the values of Abia people: 鈥淲hat you did is typical of us; you represented us very, very well.鈥
Orji hails from Obikabia, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.
It is significant this would not be the first of its kind by Gov. Otti. The governor had sometime ago similarly honoured a tricycle rider who returned a large sum of money forgotten in his vehicle.
The NIS officer was the one that arrested a wanted native doctor, Onyeka Obu, who was last month accused of burying several people, including a pregnant woman, in a pit at Umumba Ndiagu, a community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, for ritual purposes.
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Obu鈥檚 boys were arrested by the police but he fled.
He was however sighted by Orji at the Badagry-Seme border area of Lagos while attempting to flee the country, and consequently arrested.
It was at this point that he reportedly offered the NIS officer the N10 million that the officer rejected.
Orji said he was motivated by his desire to uphold his personal and professional ethics by promoting a culture of integrity within Nigeria鈥檚 law enforcement framework. 鈥樷橳aking this stand not only upholds my personal and professional ethics but also encourages a culture of integrity within our law enforcement framework鈥, he stated.
According to him, bribery undermines the rule of law and perpetuates crime and corruption. This is the point that is lost on many law enforcement agents in the country who fall for peanuts in their respective beats. They do not seem to realise that for every bribe they take, they are undermining justice and giving criminals an opportunity to escape instead of facing the law, thus giving them an opportunity to commit further crimes.
We join the governor in celebrating Orji. Indeed, as Governor Otti noted, there is a lot the NIS officer could do with N10 million if he had chosen to accept it. That he rejected it because it was not earned is commendable indeed.
Again, as Gov. Orji counselled, Orji should not be discouraged by criticism from those who might have felt he acted foolishly by rejecting the bribe, especially in our kind of environment where many people would have seen such as 鈥榤anna from heaven鈥.
It is gratifying that this display of exceptional bravery and dogged integrity has attracted the attention of some appreciative Nigerians who have also rewarded Orji their own way. Here, we refer to the N5 million gift that he got from Ebuka Onunkwo, an industrialist and senatorial aspirant, and N1 million by Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere of Omega Power Ministries. This is the way it should be.
We should give honour to whom honour is due.