EFCC Arraigns University Professor for Alleged N19 Million Fraud
Nigerian Financial Crimes Warlord: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Makurdi area office has prosecuted a certain Moses Peter Adoga before Judge Simon O. Aboki of the Nasarawa State High Court in Lafia, state of Nasarawa.
Adoga was indicted on Friday June 7, 2019 with one charge of one charge for dishonestly converting the sum of N19,765,200 (Nineteen million, seven hundred sixty-five thousand two hundred naira), which is a grant from the Trust Fund for Tertiary Education ( TETFUND). him to study a doctorate, for other purposes.
Tony Orilade, acting director of media and publicity for the anti-corruption agency, in a press release issued said that the crime is punishable under Section 312 of the Laws of the Penal Code.
But, the count charge says: “That you Moisés Peter Adoga sometime in 2011 in Keffi within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court was entrusted with the sum of N19,765,200 (one thousand nine hundred seven hundred sixty five thousand two hundred naira) of tertiary education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
The money was deposited into the professor’s account at the United Bank for Africa through the Diamond Bank account at Nasarawa State University for the purpose of training and developing academic staff at Bangor University in the UK.
“He dishonestly converted it for his own use and therefore committed a criminal breach of trust contrary to section 311 and punishable under section 312 of the Penal Code laws. He said.”
But the lecturer pleaded “not guilty” to the charge of one count.
In view of her guilty plea, the prosecution, Mary Onoja prayed for a date for the start of the trial. He also prayed that the defendant remain in pretrial detention pending the hearing of his request for bail.
Defense attorney SK Sheltu orally requested bail for his client and Judge Simon O. Aboki granted the defendant bail in the amount of N2,000,000 (two million naira) with two bail bonds in the same amount. . The accused must surrender his international passport to the clerk of the Court.
The judge postponed the matter until July 10, 2019 for the start of the trial.
The problems began for Adoga, a professor at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Nasarawa Keffi State University, when a petitioner alleged that the suspect obtained a grant from the Trust Fund for Tertiary Education (TETFUND) in the amount of N19 , 756,200 through Nasarawa State University in 2010 to study for a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Bangor University, UK.
He got this money disguised as a PhD training abroad and never presented any evidence of going or graduating as he claimed and yet he kept making excuses.
Analysis of his account statement showed that the suspect diverted the funds for commercial and miscellaneous purposes, in addition to the reason the funds were delivered.
Eight years after the money was awarded to the suspect, he was unable to present a doctoral certificate from any University.