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Philip Ezegbulam: Public Servant Who Braved The Odds To Fight Corrupt Promotion At The Police Commission

Philip Ezegbulam: Public Servant Who Braved The Odds To Fight Corrupt Promotion At The Police Commission

 

By Ekemini Simon 

 

Philip Ezegbulam, a 59-year-old public servant was amazed and bewildered that day in 2013 when he was informed that an official who was suspended after being found guilty of corrupt and unethical practices within the service, had been reinstated and then promoted. There and then, he made a resolve to fight this ugly trend, no matter what it takes.

 

In his 22 years of service as a public Servant at the Police Service Commission (PSC), Abuja, Ezegbulam has heard rumours of similar reports but with sheer belief in the service, he often waved them off but the truth he feared the most now stares at him.

 

The Police Service Commission established in 2001 is charged with the responsibility of recruiting and exercising disciplinary control over any person holding office in the Nigeria Police Force. But if the Police force maintains law and order in the society, then, the Commission which exercises disciplinary control over the force must uphold the utmost standard of integrity.

 

The information Ezegbulam heard suggested that integrity, which is the fourth guiding principle of the PSC, was gradually eluding the Commission. In 2012, the perceived  corruption rate among the Nigeria Police peaked at 78 percent. That same year, an official, Emmanuel Ibe who worked at the recruitment unit of the Commission was caught in the web of unethical practices particularly recruitment racketeering. After thorough investigation by the Nigeria Police Force and hearings by the Commission, the corrupt official was queried and subsequently suspended  for his unethical actions.

 

However,  in November 2013, like a cat with nine lives, Ibe pulled a dramatic comeback. After the leadership of the Commission which found him guilty had served out their tenure, the new Commission chaired by the former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro which was said to have a robust relationship with the suspended officer in less than six months in office overlooked the corruption charges and immediately reinstated him.

 

Interestingly, Okiro’s tenure as Chairman of PSC was not different from what Ibe was suspended for. His term of office was saturated with reports and allegations of recruitment scandal and embezzlement of funds.

 

Asides the arbitrary reinstatement of Ibe, Okiro brushed aside the seniority policy of the commission to push this indicted official up the leadership ladder. The previous commission had already had 235 Staff of the PSC who were qualified for promotion at various levels yet nothing was said or done. With the emergence of the new Chairman, due process was expected. Conversely, the Chairman of the Commission handpicked the reinstated officer who was a Deputy Director and promoted him on June 5, 2014 to a position of the Director of Finance and Administration.

 

To bastardize the process more, this strange promotion was back-dated making him superior to other Directors who had been on the list of promotion for two to three years before him. Predictably, his appointment was trailed by allegations of corruption.

 

How Ezegbulam challenged the Corrupt Status Quo

 

Although many within the PSC saw the aberration, all they could do was tongue wagging and speak in hushed tones. These officials simply consoled themselves with the mantra that in Nigeria, “everyone is doing it” thus allowing arbitrary reinstatement of unscrupulous officials and corrupt promotion of such ones to become a dangerously new normal, seducing individuals into complicity with the corrupt status quo.

 

Breaking this cycle demanded a resurgence of moral courage, a willingness to challenge the norms and champion a new standard of integrity. Interestingly, Philip Ezegbulam rose to the occasion and this marked the beginning of a case that will cost him his job and sanity.

 

“I decided to draw the attention of the management stating that his promotion was erroneous and that national promotion had been abolished in the public service since 2010. So, how was it that his promotion read 2011?” he recalled.

 

Ezegbulam refused to go to sleep after the first step.

 

“I moved a step further giving the Permanent Secretary a seven days ultimatum to reverse the promotion or I was writing a petition against him and his new appointee directing it to the Head of Service, Code of Conduct Bureau and the Presidency,” he added.

 

Regardless of his efforts, the expected result of a positive turnaround was far in sight. In an attempt to break down his resolve, the Permanent Secretary, Ossi George reached out to him so they could have an “understanding” especially as Ezegbulam, the Permanent Secretary and Mr. Ibe are all from the South East Nigeria. But firmly Ezegbulam refused. He remained undaunted, he would not allow this seemingly harmless corrupt act to stay. He went ahead with the petition on June 25, 2014, not anonymously but with his name on it to prove that he could defend it.

 

Saagwe Brighten who served as the Director in charge of Appointment, Promotion and Discipline at the Police Service Commission at the time said he was not very surprised that Ezegbulam rose to challenge the misdeed.

 

“Ezegbulam is known as an upright man. What has always stood him out in service is that he hates injustice and will speak out no matter who is involved. Even those involved in this case were all Igbos, his brothers. But he never considered ethnicity,” he noted.

 

Corruption Fights Back

 

Ezegbulam’s refusal to play ball with the top echelon of the commission means he had inadvertently declared a war against himself.

 

14 days after his petition, on July 9, 2014, Ezegbulam received a letter from the Commission informing him of his suspension until the investigation against Ibe, the official he petitioned against, is completed. A month later, on August 14, 2014, Ezegbulam got dismissed from work with no pay on the claims of “Insubordination, lack of respect to constituted authorities and declining productivity”.

 

Despite his efforts to explore the window for redress as provided for in the Public Officers Protection Act among other public service regulations, his hope at justice was dashed. Ezegbulam sack was upheld.

 

Paying the Price for Integrity 

 

The battle against corruption is not a tea party, it comes with dire consequences. Ezegbulam and his family suffered the outcome of his pursuit for a corrupt free system.

 

“I, my wife and children lived in deep denial during this period. Daily feeding was very challenging. To pay my children’s school fees was difficult. For three years I couldn’t even pay my house rent. My landlord had to go to my office and verify. But when he confirmed the story, he even came back and gave my family some money,” he related.

 

Besides the emotional trauma of suffering due to injustice, Ezegbulam had spent resources and time at the Industrial Court which he approached for justice. But he never gave up the fight. He says God and good friends were very supportive during his trial.

 

“Although things were very difficult with us, my husband did not regret the trials he faced. He kept saying that he was consoled that he fought a just cause. He asked us to imagine the level of collapse in the society if everyone would keep quiet or turn blind eyes to evil”, his wife, Onyinyechi Ezegbulam recalled.

 

Ezegbulam sustains the fight for a just system outside the Commission 

See Also

 

At the dawn of President Buhari’s administration, sparkles of light became visible towards the end of the tunnel as regards the matter. The presidency revisited the investigation into the uncanny promotion of Ibe to the position of a Director. Consequently, the Permanent Secretary, Ossi George was found culpable and compulsorily retired in December 2015.

 

Although outside the Commision, Ezegbulam kept his ears to the ground. He heard that Ibe was appointed by the Chairman of the Commission as an Acting Permanent Secretary of the Commission to replace George who was sent packing prematurely.

 

He saw this as another ploy to further bastardize the system noting that there was no such provision as an Acting Permanent Secretary coupled with the fact that Ibe was not the most senior Director at the time.

 

“I decided to write to the Chairman of the Commission about these concerns. I did not relent even with the challenging opposition of calls threatening my life. I wrote a petition to the Attorney General of the Federation, copied the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Head of Service with proof from the Public Service Regulation and Enabling Act Establishing the Police Service Commission,” he recalled.

 

Due to his reputation at this time, his effort yielded results immediately. A letter was sent to the Head of Service with a clear instruction of cancellation of the appointment as the Permanent Secretary.

 

This resulted in a Permanent Secretary being sent from the core Ministry to the Commission, and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission queried for attempting to usurp the powers of the President who is the only one empowered by law to appoint a Permanent Secretary.

 

Justice, At Last!

 

After about four years at the Industrial court, Ezegbulam finally got justice. The court declared that his sack which has lasted for four years, six months was illegal thus ordered his immediate reinstatement and directed that he should be promoted to the level of his contemporaries in the service.

 

The reinstatement dated June 22, 2018 also came with the payment of all outstanding entitlement and promotion arrears for the period he was sacked. Ezegbulam confirmed that the court order was honoured as it led to three promotions within a space of seven months.

 

The singular bravery by Philip Ezegbulam has in no little way contributed to the promotion of integrity within the Commission.

 

Brighten disclosed that with the integrity and courage displayed by Ezegbulam, staff of PSC are now emboldened to “say something anytime they “see something”.

 

Phillip Ezegbula’s story is a testimony to the fact that while the path of least resistance to corruption might lead to complicity and silence, individual bravery can initiate a cultural shift towards prioritising ethics over corruption.

 

 

This report is championed by Accountability Lab Nigeria and sponsored by The John D. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation and Luminate.

 

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