Some personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Oyo State Command, have accused the State Commandant, Augustine Padonu, of allegedly imposing compulsory financial contributions of ₦5,000 on officers deployed to various beats across the state for his birthday celebration and annual church harvest.
The officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity over alleged fears of victimisation, claimed that personnel were subjected to what they described as forced contributions, with individual payments previously ranging from ₦1,000 to ₦50,000 depending on the beat where an officer was deployed.
The allegations were reported by SaharaReporters, which said it obtained WhatsApp messages, contribution lists and other documents purportedly showing how the collections were organised and monitored.
At the centre of the alleged collection system is Superintendent of Corps (SC) Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde, popularly known as “The Machinery”, whom the officers identified as the Beat Coordinator responsible for coordinating personnel deployed across various beats in Oyo State.
According to the whistleblowers, the alleged practice began after Padonu assumed office as Oyo State Commandant in January 2024 and involved demands for contributions towards the commandant’s birthday and the annual harvest of his white-garment church in Badagry, Lagos State.
One of the whistleblowers alleged that the practice had become an established feature of the command under Padonu.
“He’s a white garment church attendant, and year in, year out, this has been occurring: all manner of contributions, all manner of extortion from we that are on the field,” the officer said.
A WhatsApp platform allegedly created by SC Adeeyo reportedly carried the title, “CONTRIBUTION FOR COMMANDANTS CHURCH HARVEST AND COMMANDANT BIRTHDAY.”
According to the documents reportedly obtained, the list contained 58 officers and recorded contributions totalling ₦616,000.
The money was allegedly directed to a PalmPay account, 7036011778, registered in the name of ADEEYO OLUREMI.
The contributions reportedly ranged from ₦1,000 to ₦50,000, with officers attached to beats including Aklad, Pan Africa, Begonia Oyo, Carlton Gate, IBEDC and mining sites across the state.
The list reportedly showed SC Adeeyo as contributing ₦10,000, while SC Idowu Olugbenga of Grayfield Mining was listed as making the highest individual contribution of ₦50,000. Several others were listed as contributing ₦20,000 and ₦30,000, while officers in less lucrative beats reportedly contributed as little as ₦1,000.
The whistleblowers alleged that the recording of individual names, beats and amounts contributed was also used to monitor compliance among officers.
The controversy deepened after the initial ₦1,000 contribution was allegedly rejected, with the amount subsequently raised to ₦5,000 per officer.
In a WhatsApp message attributed to SC Adeeyo, beat leaders were reportedly instructed to collect ₦5,000 from every officer to cover the two events.
“I want to plead that we should contribute 5k each to cover up for the two events. Because it has become a must for me to do it on Monday when everybody is presenting theirs,” the message reportedly stated.
The message further indicated that the amount would be deducted from officers’ allowances.
“I will find money to present on Monday so that we will meet up with others and I will be removing it till we get the money completed,” the message reportedly added.
The beat leaders were subsequently instructed to inform their personnel.
The whistleblower described the alleged demand for ₦5,000 as particularly troubling because the money was allegedly connected to the commandant’s private birthday celebration and church harvest.
“He mandated it to the extent of him rejecting the previous N1,000 that we even contributed, and now raised it to N5,000 per personnel, and even saying that they’re going to remove it from the source of the allowance that we’re supposed to earn in our beat,” the officer alleged.
Another WhatsApp message attributed to SC Adeeyo and dated August 28 reportedly informed officers that Padonu’s birthday would be celebrated on August 29.
The message reportedly said the command had already commenced a “commandant birthday week” featuring a series of games and other activities, while unit heads had begun presenting gifts.
Adeeyo reportedly stated in the message that he had not asked beat officers to contribute towards the birthday ceremony because of the previous church harvest contribution, which he said had been rejected.
The whistleblower, however, disputed that account and maintained that beat personnel were still being subjected to financial demands.
“What concerns us with birthday? What concerns us with your church want to do harvest?” the officer asked.
The source further alleged that personnel were reluctant to challenge the alleged deductions because of the possibility of being transferred or subjected to disciplinary action.
“We’re all suffering, suffering and smiling. I’m an arms bearer, I was trained, and to God be the glory, today I’m still in active service,” the whistleblower said.
The officer alleged that speaking out against senior officers could result in punitive postings or accusations.
“You cannot talk, especially in this public servant of a thing. We, like the soldiers normally say, ‘zombie.’ When you raise any accusation, before you know what, you’ll be deployed or posted or just find one kind of accusation,” the source alleged.
The whistleblower also questioned the accountability surrounding the money allegedly collected, claiming that officers could not establish the exact amount eventually remitted to Padonu.
“Out of all whatsoever is going on, you cannot precisely say the actual amount that is remitting to the commandant, but this is how he’s been using it, and definitely he will be getting his own share,” the source alleged.
However, when contacted by SaharaReporters, SC Adeeyo confirmed that he deducted the money but rejected the allegation that the action amounted to extortion.
Adeeyo described the contribution as a form of welfare or sacrifice within an organisation, arguing that personnel could support their superior as part of organisational relationships.
“So, if I’m coordinating people and I know what is right to do for my boss, so I need to tell them. And I seek their consent before I did it,” he said.
He also insisted that he had not deducted any money from the officers for several months before deciding that the contribution was necessary.
“For how many months now, I did not deduct N1, a dime from their money. But when I think that it is necessary to do it for my boss, so I deduct it,” Adeeyo said.
He questioned why officers would complain about a ₦5,000 contribution, arguing that some personnel allegedly receive more than ₦100,000 or ₦150,000 monthly.
“They have been collecting complete money, so how much is N5,000?” he asked.
Adeeyo further rejected the description of the collection as extortion.
“It’s not extortion as they put it. It’s something that we do for us to grow in the course of the job,” he said.
He added that officers should understand the practice as a sacrifice, claiming that people within organisations sometimes make similar or greater contributions.
The allegations have placed the issue of financial deductions and internal welfare practices within the Oyo State Command under scrutiny, particularly the claim that contributions connected to personal and religious events were allegedly collected from officers deployed to beats.
The controversy also centres on whether the contributions were genuinely voluntary, as claimed by the Beat Coordinator, or compulsory deductions imposed on junior personnel, as alleged by the whistleblowers.
The available material does not independently establish the allegations against Commandant Padonu, and the commandant was not quoted in the material provided as responding directly to the allegations. SC Adeeyo, however, acknowledged the deductions and provided his explanation for the practice.
The development raises questions about financial accountability, internal discipline and personnel welfare within the NSCDC, particularly where deductions from officers’ allowances are alleged to have been made for events connected to a superior officer’s birthday and religious activities.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps is a federal security agency mandated to protect lives and property, critical national assets and infrastructure, as well as support public safety and security operations.
For the officers who raised the allegations, the central issue is whether personnel should be required to contribute money from their allowances towards the birthday celebration or religious activities of a serving commandant.
For SC Adeeyo, however, the disputed payment was not an act of extortion but a contribution he described as a necessary “sacrifice” for the commandant.