Even though the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, is very well-sought after by students seeking leadership positions in Nigeria, our investigations reveal that sections of the leadership of this institution is allegedly besmeared in several underhand financial practices that reduce the value and worth of the degrees which the institution professes to dispense. This makes nonsense of the anti-corruption agenda of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Just before he graduated from the University of Benin in 2015, Osas Inegbedion (not real name) was secretary of the student union government in charge of transport. He told us that on one occasion, the drivers plying several of the roads leading to the various faculties at the Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin suddenly increased their bus fare from 30 naira to 50. Nobody consulted him, nor did the union of drivers look to get the buy-in of the Student Union government, SUG. From the investigations that Osas carried out, he discovered that the drivers had obtained the permission of the University authorities to increase the transport cost for students. That was not all: Osas told us that some of the drivers he spoke with told him that the increment got the backing of a certain big man at the helm of affairs of the university. Returns were being made.
With this information at his disposal, Osas called a meeting among representatives of the university, the transporters and he stood in the gap for the students. Even though he managed to get the transporters to rescind their arbitrary hike, matters were not successfully resolved until Osas got another big political figure involved. By the time of his graduation in 2015, transporters charged N30. However, the charge for transport differs today, ranging from N50 for the buses and N100 for the smaller cars plying the university. The only thing that has changed since Osas left school is the reversal from the N30 bus fare he fought against to the arbitrary N50 imposed by the drivers union and the university authorities.
Sharp practices like this are not only limited to the transport sector of UNIBEN. For example, we got wind of a petition sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 22 January 2019. The petitioner sent the same petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, had earlier petitioned the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, and sent them a reminder dated 19th January, 2019. The first petition by the petitioner to the EFCC and which was received on February 4 2019 was titled Financial Malfeasance Perpetrated By Comrade John Alile & Mr Harrison Enodeghe Against Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria University, SSANU, University Of Benin. It alleged among other matters that the duo, immediate past chairman and treasurer respectively perpetrated procurement fraud with the construction of a SSANU secretariat. According to the petition, the duo undertook construction of the SSANU secretariat, valued at N10, 000,000 (Ten million naira) for N55, 296,046.00 (Fifty Five million, Two hundred and ninety six thousand and forty naira). The petition also disclosed among other alleged sharp practices that both Mr John Alile and Harrison Enodeghe acquired several properties with union funds disproportional to their known income in the university. The petition maintained that John Alile made off with SSANU Jeep, N21, 185,406.62 (Twenty one million, one hundred and eighty five thousand and four hundred and sixty naira), used suspicious accounting firms to give false credence to financial statements to SSANU members. The petition alleged that most of the properties acquired from these activities are held in the names of the children of the perpetrators. When the petitioner sought the help of the University authorities to unravel the names behind these opaque owners, it baulked.
Allegations of financial impropriety have been leveled as well against Mr Joel Idonijie, current Non Academic Staff Union of Nigeria University, NASU Chairman UNIBEN branch. We also got wind of a petition detailing several financial infractions allegedly being perpetrated by Mr. Idonijie. Among the list of acts allegedly committed by the NASU chairman, and for which the petition of 22 January 2019 was submitted to the EFCC with the title, Financial Malfeasance Perpetrated by Comrade Joel Idonijie Against Non-Academic Staff Union of Nigeria University, NASU University of Benin Branch, included sundry allegations. The first was that Mr Idonijie collected the sum of N20, 000.000, twenty thousand naira each from members’ earned allowances against their wish. Those monies, allegedly embezzled by Mr. Idonijie amounted to N50, 000,000.00 (Fifty Million naira). Even though the Vice Chancellor directed Mr Idonijie to refund the monies illegally collected from the NASU members, Mr Idonijie was said to be adamant and refused to make a refund. The matter was allegedly swept under the carpet because some of the monies found their way into the pockets of officials at the highest levels of the UNIBEN administration. According to the petitioner, Mr Idonijie has not met the financial obligations of members for the past 6 years. Most of them who have reached retirement age ‘have been traumatized as the money they have saved over their employment years…have been stolen by Mr Idonijie’. In addition to many cases of malfeasance allegedly traced to Mr. Idonijie, he is accused of having invested union monies in the MMM Ponzi scheme which collapsed in 2016, with several employees of UNIBEN losing their investments.
In a reminder on an earlier petition sent to the CCB on February 5 2017, the petitioner alleged that Mr. Joel Idonijie, chairman of the NASU UNIBEN branch, in connivance with other members of his exco, diverted over N90million of the NASU’s funds into their private pockets. That was not all that was contained in the petition to the CCB. The letter also told the CCB that Mr. John Alile, immediate past chairman of SSANU UNIBEN branch compromised his position with the welfare committee to divert N120million of the SSANU’s funds. ‘This petition was acknowledged by the bureau and referenced CCB/HQ/IM/007/1043, and dated 1/3/2017. Sadly, no action has been taken regarding the issues raised in the petition’, the petitioner lamented.
Other petitions sent to the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria include that to the ICPC, dated April 4 2019, still against Mr. Joel Idonijie. The petitioner alleged that all the welfare savings of staff for the period of five years, and totaling N300million were shared among Mr. Idonijie, comrade A.N. Igbinosun, Miss Lizzy Alile and FO Adenagbon. Three months after the ICPC and the CCB received these petitions, they were yet to swing into action.
Reasons for the sluggishness by the anti-corruption bodies seem to refer the public to a very celebrated case involving the EFCC, erstwhile UNIBEN Vice Chancellor, Prof Oshodin and a Mr. Kehinde Samuel. Mr Kehinde was a deputy director of the university’s ICT unit. After he conducted a biometric staff audit and verification exercise, he discovered that the university had paid ghost workers a monthly salary of N80million for many years. According to reports, he therefore informed the VC, Prof Oshodin who did all he could to cover up the affair. In spite of that, the matter leaked leading the VC to dismiss Mr Kehinde on charges that he was dishonest with UNIBEN info. To seek redress, Mr Kehinde took the facts to the EFCC who invited the former VC of UNIBEN for questioning. To clear his name, the respected Prof gave the EFCC his own version of the list of staff of the university with the ghost workers already weaned. Now, instead of prosecuting the VC, the EFCC turned on Mr. Kehinde, accusing him of proffering false accusations against an esteemed public servant in Prof Oshodin. Unknown to the EFCC however that in making his case of the N80million being paid to ghost workers in the university, Mr. Kehinde had derived all his facts and figures from the Budget Office of Nigeria.
There are conjectures as to why the EFCC did an about turn to begin to prosecute the whistleblower and haul him before the Federal High Court in Benin City. Part of the speculation is that the past UNIBEN VC had greased the EFCC machine with a whopping N50million of the funds that he had realized from the sleaze in UNIBEN. Most Nigerians conversant with the matter of the N50Million bribe to the EFCC are perturbed. Did the EFCC actually take a bribe? Was it in cash and if it was who collected it on behalf of the EFCC? Who handled the transaction? Did anybody see the receipts or any shred of evidence of these monies exchanging hands?
After a diligent prosecution of the case, Mr Kehinde got judgement against the EFCC, Prof Oshodi and Mr Faith Osadolor a lecturer in the Law Department of UNIBEN who was joined in the matter. The Industrial Court ordered the reinstatement of Mr. Kehinde who has gone ahead to sue and demand N500million in damages from the EFCC. Apart from this, there are several cases of financial recklessness in the University of Benin – and linked to the former UNIBEN VC. An aspect include sale of employment and admission to the highest bidder. The allegations are linked to the wife of the former VC, the current registrar, who allegedly collected from N300, 000.00 to N400, 000.00 for employment and admission to the university. One of the victims who narrated his ordeal to us that after the audit done by Mr Kehinde, the university proceeded to carry out its own audit, albeit in a bid to sanitise the system. The source said that all university staff employed without the instrumentality of the wife of the VC were laid off.
Petitions sent to the EFCC by others affected by Mrs Oshodin’s employment fraud indicted her. The EFCC was alleged to have reprimanded and forced her to make a refund to affected persons who could not get employment even after they had paid sundry sums to her for employment. We sought to get the perspectives of some of the parties involved in this matter. But it is as if an Omerta code persists. Attempts to get the perspectives of Mr Joel Idonijie, fingered in the stealing of N50million of UNIBEN union funds were not successful. He refused to take numerous calls we made to him. Even though John Alile scheduled an appointment with us on 10th July 2019 at the University premises to discuss the issues related to his handling of public funds, he reneged at the very last minute citing official duties which have taken him out of town.
However, it was the EFCC’s initial unwillingness to respond to our inquiries that appeared baffling. Williams Oseghale, Head, Public Affairs Department, Benin Zonal Office claimed that he was unaware of the suit of N500million taken against his commission by Kehinde Samuel. In a wassap conversation, Mr Oseghale sought to know from us when the suit was filed. According to him, the case may have been filed in Abuja. He expressed surprise at the existence of any suit of N500million against the EFCC, and promised to avail us details at an uncertain date. We also sought confirmation from him that the EFCC seized three properties allegedly belonging to Mr. John Alile, situated on Aigbelagbe Street and Goodwill Street off Igue Iheya Quarters in Ugbowo. Prior to requesting information on the three houses, our investigation revealed that even though the houses were allegedly seized by the EFCC, there were no markings or signs on the properties suggesting that the houses were indeed seized by the EFCC as proceeds of crime.
Other attempts to get Mr. Oseghale to cooperate with this investigation were fruitful after we sent him a reminder on July 9, 2019. According to the EFCC, there is indeed an investigation into allegations of financial misbehavior with the SSANU officials but no properties were seized. He was categorical that there was no N500million suit against the EFCC by Mr Kehinde Samuels or any other personage. However, even though Mr Oseghale appeared dead certain that there was no such suit against his commission, media reports indicate otherwise. The Nation newspaper report of October 19, 2018, Industrial Court Reinstates Sacked UNIBEN Staff, reported that a Kehinde Samuel, deputy director in the UNIBEN ICT department allegedly ‘engaged in sharp practices through his expertise in ICT’ for which he was prosecuted by the EFCC. According to the report, Justice Oyebiola Oyewunmi did not agree with UNIBEN that Kehinde Samuel engaged in ‘sharp practices’, and said that the dismissal of the deputy director was contrary to the rules of Natural Justice and the Laws and regulations regarding the nature, tenure and discipline of senior staff of the university’. The Industrial Court ordered the reinstatement of Kehinde Samuel.
Our investigations reveal that the EFCC have appealed the judgment in favour of Kehinde Samuel, and the case has been scheduled for the Court of Appeal in Benin City, on 15 September 2019. Notwithstanding the EFCC appeal, Mr Kehinde Samuel has indeed slapped a N500million against the EFCC and joined UNIBEN former VC Osayuki Oshodin and Faith Osadolor, a senior lecturer in the UNIBEN Law department. When we presented a copy of the N500million suit to the EFCC spokesman in Benin City, he declined to comment, insisting that the matter is already in court. The particulars of the N500million suit that Kehinde Samuel wants the Federal High Court to adjudicate on include his request to the High Court to declare that his arrest and arraignment by the EFCC in 2013 was unlawful. Kehinde Samuel also wants the court to declare that his arraignment and prosecution by the EFCC on the allegation that he gave them false information against the former UNIBEN VC Prof Osayuki Oshodin is malicious and without reasonable and lawful justification. But most of all is his request for an order to compel the EFCC to pay him the N500million as damages for malicious prosecution.
We learnt that counsel to Kehinde Samuel served the EFCC three times and only on the third attempt in January 2019 did they accept a copy of the N500million suit by Kehinde Samuel. Based on this, there are allegations that the EFCC is very desirous to cover up indications of a cover up by the EFCC against the backdrop of the complicity of the commission in a matter that the public has a right to know about. Investigations reveal that after it conducted its own findings concerning the matter of ghost workers salaries, which amounted to a princely N80million monthly from 2012 to 2015, the EFCC suddenly and very unexpectedly turned around to arrest and prosecute Mr Kehinde Samuel, on ‘orders from above’, on allegations of providing false information to it. Quite unknown to the EFCC though, data generated by the work done on the staff strength of the University of Benin by Mr Kehinde Samuel actually tallied with that of the Budget Office’s in Abuja, the Federal government agency that knows actual figures on the payroll of every federal government institution. Prior to Mr Kehinde’s work, nobody knew actual number of the UNIBEN staff, creating room for interested parties to cash in and rip the system off.
The ICPC too was not forthcoming with response to calls made to Mrs Rashudat, head of the media and publicity department of the ICPC Office in Abuja. We are unable to verify if the silence on the part of the ICPC has anything to do with the recent investigation and audit carried out by the new ICPC chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, to wit that nearly all the officers assigned to cover investigations have nearly all been bought over by interested parties. A source unwilling to have her name in print told us that the ICPC Abuja office has taken over the cases that involve the petitions sent to it by the petitioner.
Mr. Kehinde Samuel, the claimant in the suit against the EFCC has declined to comment on the matter as well, insisting that we speak to his lawyers. In seeking to verify the authenticity of the N500million suit, and establish under what conditions he had instituted the N500million case at a Benin High Court, counsel to Mr Kehinde Samuel, Mr CN Dike did not take our calls. There are feelers that this is because the case is subjudice. Issues that we sought to clarify with Mr Kehinde included the following: Did he have any evidence that the EFCC indeed took the alleged bribe of N50million from UNIBEN? Who collected it on behalf of the EFCC? Who handled the transaction? Did anybody see the receipts or any shred of evidence of these monies exchanging hands?
But if this reticence on the part of these individuals concerned may be anticipated, that of the petitioner, Mr, Ernest Amahian, of the UNIBEN Bursary department that has been most bewildering. After we got wind of the petition he wrote to the Anti-graft agencies, we put several calls to him that he did not respond to. Sources told us that after Mr. Amahian petitioned the anti-graft agencies, several attempts were made on his life. The hapless whistleblower then approached the Department of State Security, DSS, Benin Office. According to sources, the DSS made all interested parties sign an undertaking to sheath their swords pending the conclusion of the matter in the Court of law. We also found out that some of the persons who were fingered in Mr. Ernest Amahian’s petitions were made to sign an undertaking to be held responsible if Mr. Amahian came to harm.
Our investigation took us to several sections of the University. There appears to be many physical structures on ground that seems to attest to the fact that the university generates a lot of monies from its statutory functions. Rather than maintain existing infrastructure, these monies seem go into the erection of new structures or they find their way into private pockets. Erection of new structures on the campus seems to create a vista of opportunities for unscrupulous elements to cash in and make a quick buck or two in the form of millions of naira. For instance, we visited the male hostels, Unit 3 Hall 4. That male hostel is popularly known as Abuja because when it was first built, it was a pretty building and had an ambience of modernity about it. However, today, that male hostel is a shadow of its former self, what with the dirt and weeds which have almost taken over the premises. The toilets have no electric bulbs while the rooms we entered are in the very same condition they were in the very early 90s.
Just directly opposite the male hostels however is an uncompleted building. It was one of those cited by the petitioner as an example of financial malfeasance that pervades the University of Benin. According to the petitioner, Mr John Alile had quoted the cost of the building to be N56million, to include the cost of the purchase of the said land for the construction of a SSANU secretariat. But the said land was freely given to the SSANU by the University authorities, and an independent auditor had estimated the cost of the erection of that building to be only around N10million.
Across Nigeria, the case with the University of Benin is what obtains. A senior ASUU member who did not want his name mentioned told us that even though the universities are poorly funded, authorities of the universities who have control of much of the internally generated funds divert it. A visit to the College of Education Agbor however, revealed a different scenario however. Rather than pilfer funds from the College, authorities ensure that there is zero waste and zero tolerance for financial misbehavior. ‘What we do with the little resources we have is that we set up a review committee which supervises projects from beginning to finish and evaluation phases’ Dr. Mike Ejiodu, Dean of Students affairs told us. ‘Because we are meticulous with our finances and put them to proper use, the Federal government is often desirous of assisting us to develop faster’, Dr. Ejiodu said.
In the UNIBEN case however, until authorities at the highest level weigh in and put its foot down hard on perpetrators of fraudulent practices in institutions of higher learning, the foundation upon which these institutions were founded is eroded daily.
*** Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku is editor-in-chief of Bob MajiriOghene Communications, Benin City.
