Though, the names of the officers who were involved in the ‘Lieutenant to Captain’ promotion examination misconduct were not known as at press time, but army sources told Daily Trust that 60 officers have since been arrested and that they are currently being interrogated.
“60 officers, out of the 315 that sat for the examination are facing a military board of inquiry consisting of military police at the 1 Division in Kaduna,” the source said.
The officers were said to have fraudulently obtained questions days before the date slated for the exams. The source revealed that trouble started when some officers who did take part in the fraud demanded the outright cancellation of the exams on the grounds that only those allegedly involved in the fraud passed the promotional examination.
A Daily Trust source also revealed that those arrested by military police were picked up in Akwa Ibom State.
It was also learnt that even though the army authority sent out circulars advising participants not to enter the examination hall with cell phones, the alleged chief culprit who was simply identified as Lieutenant Taofik was caught with a cell phone in which some of the answers to the questions were loaded.
It was gathered that the officer bolted away immediately after he was discovered with the examination questions, but before then he had allegedly distributed it to his friends and colleagues about 60 of them.
It was also learnt that effort is being made to trace the route of the fraud but that the principal actors, among who is the clerk have all fled from the long arm of the law.
Following the incidence, the remaining 240 officers have called on the examination officials, particularly the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and the Army authority to move towards cancelling the examinations as it does not encourage proper career development.
Director of Army Public Relations Brigadier General Ibrahim Attahiru confirmed the incident and said the army corps of military police has stepped in to investigate the matter
explaining that anybody found culpable would face court martial.
He said a total of 316 officers sat for exams in six modules and questions for one module leaked. The module has been cancelled, he added.
He said the examination which took place in Kaduna between February 10 and 15 was aimed at “assessing officers’ knowledge on land and tactical employment of a mechanized platoon up to combat team level and also to expose young officers to practical methods and techniques of administering men and material in peace and war.”
