DMO to penalise officials for leaking internal documents

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has accused some of its officials who were recently redeployed of illegally leaking official documents in breach of civil service regulations and promised to fish them out and penalise them.
In a statement, the debt office said it plans to brief relevant security agencies to investigate those who are behind the leaked documents with the aim of bringing the perpetrators to book.
The DMO was responding to a story in a local newspaper alleging perpetration of fraud amounting to N1.08 billion through false claims on travel allowance by some officials of the debt office.
However, in a statement debunking the claims, the DMO said some of its officials who were recently redeployed “have resorted to illegally leaking official documents due to their recent redeployment.”
The debt office hinted about a possible dismissal for the alleged officials if found wanting on the leaked documents, an indication that there are internal squabbles within the organisation.
The DMO said it “will brief relevant security agencies in the country to thoroughly investigate the sources of the documents, on which the sponsors based their story, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book in line with Public Service Rules No. 030401 and 030402 which prescribes dismissal for unauthorized disclosure of official information as a serious act of misconduct.”
Though details of the redeployment was not disclosed by the debt office, from the tone of the statement, it appears all is not well within the organisation, which was responsible for managing the country’s domestic and external borrowing.