A Department of State Services (DSS) officer, identified as Salihu Muhammed, has admitted collecting ₦2.5 million from two job seekers after promising to help them secure employment with the security agency.
However, the applicants said the promised appointments never materialised and are demanding a refund of their money.
One of the applicants, Abdulkadir Liman, alleged that Muhammed collected the money from him and his friend, Abdullahi Alhassan, after claiming that his superior had recruitment slots available for interested candidates at ₦2.5 million each.
Liman explained that Alhassan initially paid ₦2 million in two instalments of ₦1.5 million and ₦500,000, with an agreement to complete the payment after receiving an appointment.
According to him, he was also interested in the opportunity but lacked the money. He reportedly told Muhammed that he could sell his car after securing the job, but the officer allegedly insisted that he sell the vehicle and make an upfront payment.
Liman said he eventually obtained a ₦500,000 loan and transferred the money to Muhammed while attempting to sell his car to raise the outstanding balance.
He claimed that potential buyers offered considerably lower prices because they suspected he was desperate to sell the vehicle.
He also alleged that Muhammed introduced him to a man identified as Sadan, whom he initially believed was a car dealer but later discovered was also a DSS employee.
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Liman said he eventually abandoned plans to sell his vehicle after noticing several questionable developments in the recruitment arrangement.
He further alleged that Muhammed continued demanding the outstanding payment and arranged a telephone call from someone claiming to be calling from a DSS office to obtain his personal information and discuss his application.
The applicant also claimed that he discovered he was above the agency’s stipulated recruitment age limit of 30 years after checking the requirements online.
According to him, Muhammed allegedly assured him that his age would not affect the process and offered to arrange another National Identification Number (NIN) registration to alter his date of birth for an additional ₦30,000.
Liman further claimed that other applicants were invited for an interview at the DSS centre in Victoria Garden City, Lagos, but he and Alhassan were excluded.
He alleged that Muhammed told them not to worry because he was among the officers conducting the interviews and could award them the required scores without their physical presence.
The developments reportedly increased his suspicion, prompting him to contact people he knew within the security agency to verify the recruitment process.
Liman said he subsequently discovered that some successful applicants had already proceeded to a training camp.
He claimed that when he confronted Muhammed about the development, the officer stopped answering his calls.
The two applicants eventually demanded a refund after concluding that the arrangement had failed to secure the promised appointments.
According to Liman, Muhammed requested two months to repay the money when they raised the issue in May, but they had yet to receive their refund.
DSS Officer Admits Collecting Money, Denies Defrauding Applicants
When contacted, Muhammed confirmed that he was a DSS officer and admitted collecting money in connection with the recruitment arrangement.
However, he denied defrauding the applicants, insisting that he was only trying to help them secure employment through his contacts within the agency.
He explained that a police officer friend introduced him to Liman, who was reportedly interested in leaving his job with the fire service for an opportunity at the DSS.
Muhammed claimed that Liman had repeatedly approached him since 2022 for assistance with recruitment.
He said the arrangement encountered difficulties because Liman failed to obtain his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate before the DSS completed compiling its recruitment list.
According to him, he subsequently contacted a cousin who also works with the DSS to help the applicants.
Muhammed admitted that he collected the money to pay the other officer, who allegedly demanded ₦2 million to facilitate the recruitment process.
He further claimed that six applicants were involved in the arrangement, with four successfully securing positions and completing their training, while two others were unsuccessful.
He said the unsuccessful applicants later requested their money back, adding that he had promised to refund them.
Muhammed claimed that he reached an understanding with the person who collected the money to use payments from successful applicants to reimburse those who did not secure employment.
He explained that delays in harvesting crops belonging to some successful applicants’ families had affected the repayment arrangement.
The officer also disclosed that he was attempting to obtain a bank loan to refund the applicants and had requested an official introduction letter from his office to facilitate a loan of up to ₦5 million.
He said he had also put his land up for sale to raise the money but had yet to find a buyer.
Muhammed maintained that he had no intention of defrauding the applicants and promised to return their money.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain an official response from the DSS were unsuccessful, as the agency’s Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, reportedly neither answered calls nor responded to a message sent to her before the report was published.
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