Recruitment Scandal Rocks DSS Office as Officer Collected ₦2.5 Million From Applicants in Failed Recruitment Process
A Department of State Services (DSS) officer, Salihu Muhammed, has admitted collecting N2.5 million from applicants seeking recruitment into the agency after promising to facilitate their employment through his connections.
The officer’s admission followed allegations by two applicants, Abdulkadir Liman and Abdullahi Alhassan, who accused him of collecting millions of naira from them without securing the promised appointments.
The victims are now demanding a refund of their money, with Liman alleging that the officer subjected him to pressure that nearly forced him to sell his only car and take a loan to finance the recruitment arrangement.
Narrating his experience, Liman said he was introduced to Muhammed by his friend, Alhassan, who had earlier been told that a superior officer had recruitment slots available for interested candidates at N2.5 million each.
According to him, Alhassan paid N2 million in two instalments, with an agreement to pay the remaining N500,000 after securing an appointment.
Liman said he initially informed Muhammed that he did not have the money but offered to sell his car after getting the job.
However, he alleged that Muhammed rejected the proposal and insisted that he sell the vehicle immediately to enable him to commence the recruitment process.
Following the pressure, Liman said he obtained a N500,000 loan and transferred the money to the DSS officer while making efforts to sell his car to raise the outstanding balance.
He alleged that the officer also connected him with another individual, identified as Sadan, who was introduced as a car dealer but later turned out to be a DSS staff member.
Liman said the discovery further heightened his suspicion about the recruitment arrangement.
He also alleged that Muhammed arranged a telephone call from someone claiming to be calling from a DSS office to ask questions about his application, apparently to convince him that the recruitment process was genuine.
The victim further claimed that after checking the agency’s recruitment requirements online, he discovered that he was already above the stipulated age limit of 30 years.
However, Muhammed allegedly assured him that his age would not affect his chances and offered to arrange a fresh NIN registration to alter his date of birth, demanding another N30,000.
Liman also alleged that while other applicants were invited for interviews at the DSS centre in Victoria Garden City, Lagos, he and Alhassan were excluded.
He claimed that Muhammed told them not to worry because he was among the officers conducting the interviews and could award them the necessary scores without their physical presence.
The victim said he became more suspicious after discovering through his contacts within the agency that successful candidates had already proceeded to training camp.
He alleged that Muhammed stopped answering his calls after he confronted him about the development.
Liman said he and Alhassan eventually requested a refund, but Muhammed asked them to exercise patience for two months.
He added that despite making the demand in May, they had yet to receive their money.
Officer Blames Recruitment Failure on NYSC Certificate
Reacting to the allegations, Muhammed confirmed to SaharaReporters that he was a DSS officer and admitted collecting money from the applicants.
However, he denied defrauding them, claiming that he was only attempting to assist them in securing employment through his connections within the agency.
He explained that Liman was introduced to him by a police officer who said the applicant wanted to leave his job at the fire service and join the DSS.
Muhammed claimed that Liman had approached him several times since 2022 for assistance with recruitment.
He said the major challenge was that Liman had not obtained his NYSC discharge certificate before the agency completed compiling its recruitment list.
According to him, he subsequently contacted a cousin who was also a DSS officer to help facilitate the process.
Muhammed admitted that he collected the money from the applicants to pay the other officer, whom he claimed had agreed to assist with the recruitment.
He further disclosed that six applicants were involved in the arrangement, with four successfully securing positions and completing their training, while two others failed to make the final list.
The officer said the four successful applicants completed their training on Saturday, November 8, 2026.
He claimed that he had promised to refund the unsuccessful applicants and was waiting for the families of those who secured appointments to harvest their farm produce and make payments.
Muhammed also disclosed that he had applied for an introduction letter from his office to obtain a N3 million loan from GTBank to refund the applicants.
He said the process was delayed because the agency’s Deputy Director-General had yet to sign the letter.
The officer further claimed that he had put his land up for sale but had not found a buyer.
Despite admitting to collecting the money, Muhammed maintained that he had no intention of defrauding the applicants.
He said he contacted Liman on Thursday, November 6, to explain the situation, but the applicant threatened to report him to the authorities.
Muhammed appealed to the victims to exercise patience, insisting that he would refund the money.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain an official reaction from the DSS were unsuccessful.
The agency’s Deputy Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, neither answered calls nor responded to a message sent to her before the report was filed.
