Some personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Oyo State Command, have accused the State Commandant, Augustine Padonu, of systemic extortion and imposing compulsory financial levies on officers deployed across various beats in the state.
Whistleblowers within the command revealed to SaharaReporters that the extortions are disguised as mandatory contributions for Commandant Padonu’s personal birthday celebrations and annual church harvest at his church in Badagry, Lagos State.
According to serving officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, the commandant conducts the extortion scheme through a designated “Beat Coordinator,” Superintendent of Corps (SC) Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde, popularly known as “The Machinery.”
The officers revealed that the commandant, who was posted to the Oyo State Command in January 2024, has institutionalised a culture of forced contributions, with officers taxed between N1000 and N50,000 depending on their beat’s perceived affluence.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters, including WhatsApp messages from a platform created by the “Beat Coordinator” and contribution lists, expose how the scheme operates under the guise of “voluntary” contributions for the commandant’s personal events.
At the centre of the alleged extortion is Superintendent of Corps (SC) Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde, who was appointed “Beat Coordinator” by Commandant Padonu. Babatunde, a Level 11 officer, allegedly serves as the principal conduit for collecting the forced contributions from beat officers.
According to the whistleblower, Babatunde, coordinates all beats across Oyo State and ensures compliance with the contribution demands.
“The name of the Beat Coordinator is SC Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde. He is holding a unit which we call Beat Coordinator for all our beats out there. He’s coordinating it,” the source said.
The whistleblower explained that the scheme has been running since Commandant Padonu assumed office, with contributions demanded for the commandant’s birthday and the church harvest of his white garment church in Badagry, Lagos State.
“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. As I’m speaking with you, I’m on the field,” the officer said.
SaharaReporters obtained a WhatsApp message posted on a platform created by SC Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde, titled “CONTRIBUTION FOR COMMANDANTS CHURCH HARVEST AND COMMANDANT BIRTHDAY,” which lists the names of 58 officers and their respective contributions, totalling N616,000.
The contributions, paid into a Palmpay account (7036011778) registered to ADEEYO OLUREMI, ranged from N1,000 to N50,000, with beat locations such as Aklad, Pan Africa, Begonia Oyo, Carlton Gate, IBEDC, and mining sites across Oyo State.
The list revealed that SC Adeeyo himself contributed N10,000, while the highest single contribution of N50,000 came from SC Idowu Olugbenga of Grayfield Mining. Several officers contributed N20,000 and N30,000, while others, particularly those in less lucrative beats, were recorded to have contributed N1,000.
The message instructed officers to send their contributions to the Palmpay account, with the names of contributors and their beats meticulously documented — a practice the whistleblower described as a tool for identifying non-compliant officers.
In another WhatsApp message obtained by SaharaReporters, SC Adeeyo informed beat leaders that the commandant had rejected the initial contributions and mandated an increased sum of N5,000 per officer, to be deducted directly from their allowances.
The message read: “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. Everybody in beats will contribute 5k. That’s 5k per officer and it will be deducted from the source. 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 further instructed: “Please kindly inform your men at the beat.”
The whistleblower told SaharaReporters that the commandant’s demand for N5,000 per officer was a significant increase from the previous N1000, which he had rejected as insufficient.
“He mandated it to the extent of he 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 source said.
Another message from SC Adeeyo, dated August 28, announced that the commandant’s birthday would be celebrated on August 29, with a series of events already underway since Tuesday.
“I want to inform you that tomorrow 29th of August is the state Commandant birthday and everyone is preparing like seriously for the event on Monday. We have actually started the commandant birthday week since Tuesday with series of games events,” the message read.
The message added: “And almost all the unit heads have brought their gifts today. I didn’t ask anybody from beats to contribute for his birthday ceremony from the beat because of the last harvest that he rejected the money we contributed.”
The whistleblower, however, told SaharaReporters that despite the claim that beat officers were not being asked to contribute for the birthday, the reality on the ground was different.
“What concerns us with birthday? What concerns us with your church want to do harvest? And he mandated it to the extent of he rejecting the previous N1,000 that we even contributed, and now raised it to N5,000 per personnel,” he said.
The whistleblower described the atmosphere within the Oyo State Command as one of fear and intimidation, where officers who dare to speak out are immediately transferred or faced with fabricated accusations.
“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,” he said.
“So, each beat, they’ll be deducting or taxing each one of us. And this has been the norm that has been happening all this while. This has not been happening before, but when this our commandant came in, this is what is happening.”
He added: “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. And that’s how it has been. A lot of abnormalities is going on.”
Commandant Augustine Padonu, according to the whistleblower, hails from Badagry, Lagos State, and was posted to the Oyo State Command in January 2024.
The whistleblower alleged that the commandant uses SC Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde to collect the funds, with no clear accounting of how much is ultimately remitted to the commandant.
“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 said.
The allegations against Commandant Padonu and SC Adeeyo Babatunde raise serious questions about discipline, accountability, and welfare within the NSCDC, an agency charged with protecting critical national infrastructure and providing security services.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, established by Act No. 2 of 2003, is mandated to provide measures against the breakdown of law and order, protect critical national assets, and perform other security-related functions. However, the alleged extortion of personnel by their superiors for personal gain underscores a deeper rot within the agency’s command structure.
Officers on beats, particularly those in lucrative locations such as mining sites, hotels, and corporate organisations, are often subjected to various forms of taxation by their superiors — a practice that has become endemic across commands in Nigeria.
The whistleblower’s account, if verified, would represent one of the most egregious cases of internal extortion within the NSCDC, where a commandant allegedly uses his position to fleece junior officers for personal religious and social events.
When SaharaReporters contacted SC Adeeyo Oluremi Babatunde for comment, he confirmed that he deducted the said amount, questioning what was wrong with that.
He said: “So, I know someone might have reported to you, but I think that matter is none of your business. Because I can tell you categorically that if that matter does not concern you, in every business, in every organisation, there’s what they call what? Welfare. You can run a welfare to your boss. It depends on how loyal you are to him. Are you getting me?
“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. Are you getting me? So, it’s none of any journalist’s business. You don’t have to be worrying about that. You understand? Okay, now, listen to me. 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. They have been collecting complete money, so how much is N5,000? Do you know how much I’m paying them every month? So, you need to find out things before you can say you want to… Thank God that you called me. You get the basic idea of what actually happened.
“So, everybody that reported to you, just let them know that there’s sacrifice everywhere. You must do it to grow. If you don’t do… it’s not extortion as they put it. It’s something that we do for us to grow in the course of the job. You understand? People are doing more than that. So, I don’t know why they are complaining about just ordinary common N5,000. Do you know how much they’re collecting? Some are collecting above N100,000, N150,000 every month for them to make a sacrifice of… It’s just one month, so my brother, just forget about it.”
(SaharaReporters)
