November 12, (THEWILL) – An Ikeja Special Offences Court presided over by Justice Sherifat Solebo has remanded Chima Igwe, a former Director-General of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) over alleged certificate fraud.
Igwe was arraigned on Friday by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly collecting salaries for 18 years with a phantom doctorate certificate.
The arraignment borders on “use of false/fake PhD certificate and using office to confer corrupt/unfair advantage.”
The crisis at FIIRO started after the immediate past DG of the institute, Prof. Gloria Elemo, left office in April 2019.
Igwe’s appointment as acting DG was opposed by the governing board after the Ph.D with which he gained promotions for over 18 years became a subject of investigation by the ICPC.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, however, overruled the board, insisting that he should be the acting DG.
Igwe had claimed he obtained the doctorate degree at the Universite D’Abomey Calavi, Benin Republic, in 2000.
Discovered that the school was non-existent, he was removed as DG and also demoted.
That decision pitted the board against the minister, who began moves to reinstate Igwe, including writing the President Muhammadu Buhari to confirm him as substantive DG.
The minister also had face-offs with the then board Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Gwarzo, who insisted that Igwe deserved prosecution and not reinstatement for the alleged fraud.
The President, in a letter dated September 7, 2021, rejected Onu’s request to confirm Igwe and ordered the ICPC to prosecute him for “giving false information to his employers”.
The minister later dissolved the FIIRO board and others, saying they had served out their tenure.
