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Sacked UNIZIK VC’s professorship fraudulently obtained, says Zamfara university

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The Federal University Gusau (FUGUS) in Zamfara state says Bernard Odoh, former vice-chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Anambra, fraudulently obtained his professorship.

BACKGROUND

On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu dissolved UNIZIK’s governing council and sacked the institution’s vice-chancellor and registrar.

Odoh was described as “unqualified” for the role of vice-chancellor of the university, in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.

“The sacking of the governing council and officials followed reports that the council illegally appointed an unqualified vice-chancellor without following due process,” the statement reads.

“After the controversial appointment, the Federal Government stepped in to address tensions between the university’s Senate and the governing council of the 33-year-old institution.

“The government expressed concern over the council’s apparent disregard for the university’s governing laws in its selection process.”

“The government expressed concern over the council’s apparent disregard for the university’s governing laws in its selection process.”

However, in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, Odoh said the president erred by firing him.

He added that since his appointment as vice-chancellor was not made through a press release, he cannot be removed through one.

The embattled don said he was qualified for the position of vice-chancellor of UNIZIK ab initio. He added that his appointment followed due process.

Odoh said the case against his appointment is before a federal high court and industrial courts.

He added that Tinubu and Tunji Alausa, education minister, should have waited for the verdict of the courts before booting him out.

Odoh said by leaving the university without a vice-chancellor, governing council and registrar, Tinubu has fomented crisis in UNIZIK.

The embattled university don added that two of the assessors, and a registrar from FUGUS who deposed to an affidavit on his professorship, are still alive and can back his claims.

‘PRODUCTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE FRAUD’

In a statement on Thursday, Yakubu Anivbassa, FUGUS registrar, said the documents referenced by Odoh were “products of administrative fraud”.

The FUGUS management said Odoh “was never a staff member of the university” and his claims are “tissues of lies and misinformation”.

“The Federal University Gusau hereby states in clear and unambiguous terms that the so called letters of offer of tenure of appointment as Professor and confirmation of promotion to the post of Professor, dated 30th April 2015 and 12th November 2015, being paraded by Dr Bernard Odoh are null and void,” the statement reads.

“The documents being paraded by Dr. Odoh Bernard Ifeanyi and purported to be certified true copies hurriedly endorsed by Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, former Registrar of the Federal University, dated November 8, 2024, six solid years after the latter left the services of the Federal University Gusau, are products of administrative fraud orchestrated by Dr. Odoh.

“Dr Odoh working in cahoots with the former Vice Chancellor of the University and the Registrar, as there is no official record of Dr. Odoh’s employment in the custody of the University.

“Further proof of the desperation to perpetuate such illegality is the impersonation and usurpation of the duties of the current Registrar of the University by the former Registrar, Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, who procured a fake stamp to certify Dr. Odoh’s equally fake employment documents as true copies on November 8, 2024, six years after his disengagement from the university.

“Dr. Odoh Bernard Ifeanyi is not and has never been a tenure staff of the university, let alone being confirmed as a professor by the institution.

“Whatever claim to the contrary by Dr. Odoh is nothing but the antics of a drowning man who is hell-bent on using the good name of the Federal University Gusau, to give vent to his desperate ambition to become the Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, through subterfuge.”

The registrar said certification of public documents is guided by the Evidence Act 2011, adding that requirements include payment of fees and a certified true copy.

Anivbassa added that the document must be sealed, dated and signed by the officer responsible for issuing the document with his name and title of his office.

“A careful perusal of the above requirements and their juxtaposition against the certification of Dr. Odoh’s documents by Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, clearly shows that the so called certified true copies fell short of the provisions of Section 104 of the Evidence Act, 2011 and are therefore, not legally tenable,” he said.

Anivbassa said Bawa, having left FUGUS as a registrar in 2018, has “no locus” to certify university documents.

“Therefore, the so-called certified true copies of Dr. Odoh’s documents relating to his alleged employment as endorsed by Ibrahim Bawa Kaura on November 8, 2024, are illegal, criminal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever,” the statement added.

Education

Abducted Kogi university student found naked in Kwara

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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kwara State Command, on Monday, said the abducted 400-level student of Abubakar Audu University, Ayangba, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State was rescued while wandering naked.

The 19-year-old English Education undergraduate whose name was given as Fauziyah Muhammed was alleged to have been kidnapped in Ayangba on Sunday morning, hypnotised and later dumped in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident took place between 9 am and 10 am on Sunday.

The state commandant of the NSCDC, Dr Umar Muhammed, who briefed journalists in Ilorin on Monday, said the student was discovered by the residents of Ajegunle-Isale community on Egbejila road in Ilorin on Monday morning.

The commandant said that “Fauziyah was wandering about the community naked” adding that the residents seized and handed her over to the NSCDC officer, Afolayan, who later mustered the command’s support.

He said, “Fauziyah is no longer coherent in speech, suggesting her horrible experiences while with the kidnappers.

“She was found naked while some Good Samaritans in Ajegunle Isale, Egbejila Road, Ilorin provided her with clothes and we as a command have tried to comfort her.

“We have briefed Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq about her plight and the governor being a father has promised to assist us with fuel to return her to Kogi tomorrow,” he added.

During an interview, Fauziyah said she did not know how she got to Kwara State from Kögi State, but recalled: “One of the books I carried dropped and as I made to pick it, I lost consciousness.”

The commandant said that the command was set to release her to one Mallam Salihu Aliu who claimed to be her uncle and was delegated by the family to act on their behalf.

In another development, the command also paraded one Abu Usman Soja suspected to be an informant to some kidnappers who abducted three people including a woman and her two children in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The NSCDC said that the kidnappers, now on the run, abducted the woman and her two children on November 7, 2024, and placed a ransom of N50m for their release.

According to the commandant, “The kidnappers demanded N50m ransom but later reduced it to N15m. The mother has been released while the kidnappers have escaped into the forest with the children.”

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Education

FUNAAB worker found dead in apartment

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A member of the security team at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Oriyomi Fatai, was found dead in his apartment on Anigilaje Street, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, PUNCH Metro learnt on Sunday.

It was learnt that Fatai might have died from a fall, as his body was discovered in the apartment around 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Residents in the area where the body was found, noticed a foul odour coming from the apartment, prompting them to report it to a nearby police division.

While the police investigative team quickly responded and forced open the apartment’s door, PUNCH Metro learnt that Fatai’s lifeless body was found swollen, lying on the floor of the apartment.

The state command spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, told our correspondent on Sunday that the crime scene assessment suggested the deceased might have fallen from a couch due to intoxication, as remnants of the alcohol he had consumed were found on the table.

Odutola said, “Residents noticed an unpleasant odour coming from the apartment of a co-tenant named Oriyomi Fatai. Our officers were dispatched to the scene, and upon arrival, they discovered the lifeless, swollen body of the deceased in the room.

“The position in which he was found suggested that he might have fallen from the couch and hit his head on the ground due to suspected intoxication. Remnants of dry gin were found on the table. We also learnt that the deceased was a Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, staff member.

“The deceased’s family was notified, and they requested the return of Fatai’s body for burial, as no signs of foul play were found.”

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Education

‘I was abducted, pelted, forced to read script’ — ex-VC Lilian Salami recalls UNIBEN protests

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Lilian Salami, the outgoing vice-chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has recounted how students of the institution pelted her and forced her to read a script during a campus protest.

Protests have, on several occasions, erupted in UNIBEN over various issues affecting the student community on campus.

In October, the institution’s management appointed Edoba Omoregie, a specialist in constitutional law and governance, as the new VC of the institution to take over from Salami.

Salami, before exiting office, authored a memoir where she recounted lessons and experiences from her time governing the federal university.

Salami recalled that the varsity council had decided to raise the penalty for late payment of sessional fees, a move that prompted outrage on campus.

She recalled that all efforts by the dean of student affairs to quell the demonstrations were to no avail.

Salami said the institution’s chief security officer, the police divisional officer, and the area commander had visited and urged her to reverse the decision but she stood her ground.

“The students took to the expressway with musicians providing music for them and caterers cooking on the highway,” the outgoing VC narrated.

“On the third day, they had decided to abduct me, forcing me to come to the highway to address them. The DCP, DPO, as well as security officials, were in my house asking me to address the students, assuring me of my safety.

“By this time, the mob had pulled down my chain-wire fence and dragged me out of my official residence to force me to trek to the main gate.

“Somehow, some of them advised against trekking. So, I was allowed to ride in my Hilux van with students sitting on the hood, bonnet and windows.

“Guns were brandished and some were shown to me under their shirts. Finally, as I got to the main gate, I was forced to climb on the Hilux van and directed to repeat an address after one of the ring leaders, which I did.

“At that point, some pure water sachets were thrown at me. After reading the address and ensuring that the ICT unit had complied, I was let go. I was taken to the DPOs and then to the CP’s offices. The CP later booked my one-night stay in a hotel.”

Salami alleged that the cabals seeking to discredit her administration sponsored students and some academic staff to protest against her.

The purpose of the protest, she claimed, was to create the impression that she was inept and incapable of running the institution.

“They claim that in the past, they were adequately compensated with money, with some of them on the payroll, while others got cash for unexecuted contracts. Still, others were given admission and hostel accommodation slots in place of cash,” Salami recounted.

“A couple of groups had reached out to me to be educated and initiated into the cabal groups, which I politely declined.

“These were unarguably the platforms and persons who apparently might have vowed to continuously cause unrest during the tenure of my administration.”

In her memoir, Salami wrote that an investigation had indicated that her security was compromised, with some professors complicit.

Lilian Salami was slated to hand over office to her successor on December 1, ending her five-year tenure as VC.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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