investigators from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to recover over N100m meant for
the use of three government colleges in Ogun State, which he diverted
for personal use.
The suspect, Olusegun Lawal, stole the funds budgeted for students’
meal subsidies and also payment of contractors carrying out
developmental projects in the three schools.
The schools affected are Federal Government College, Odogbolu,
Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu, and Federal Science
Technical College, Ijebu-Mushin.
The suspect, over a two-year period, carried out an elaborate scam,
whereby funds channelled to the three schools were diverted through
the use of companies operated by him and his cronies.
Between February, 2014, and March, 2015, Mr. Lawal allegedly
diverted the monies sent to the three schools via the Zenith Bank
account of the Pay Office and another Central Bank of Nigeria account
and utilized the funds for personal purposes.
The amount he allegedly stole through the pay office account with
Zenith is N61, 150, 691.75 while he also diverted a total of N42, 520,
755. 00 from the CBN account.
In all, he stole a total of N103, 671, 466. 75.
Apparently, Mr. Lawal came up with the ingenious scheme to divert
the schools’ funds after the other official signatory of the accounts
operated by the pay office, one Mrs. Iyabode, was redeployed from
the Abeokuta office in 2012.
Mr. Lawal neither informed the relevant authorities of Mrs. Iyabode’s
transfer nor did he ask for another co-signatory to be deployed or
assigned to the school.
Subsequently, Mr. Lawal alone regularly signed checks for
withdrawals of funds from the two accounts, contrary to civil service
rules.
The elaborate scam that Mr. Lawal allegedly orchestrated involved the
setting up of fake companies, opening an account for them and then
the transfer of huge sums into the accounts purportedly for either
supplying food or executing contracts.
Some of the companies investigators said he established to defraud
the system are Oris Fish Industry Nigeria Ltd, SOG Best Concept, Oris
Farms and Food and Toyinlolu Gbade and Sons.
Checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission show that none of the
companies was registered to do any kind of business.
The companies received various bulk sums of money from the suspect
at various times between February 2014 and March 2015 for
undisclosed jobs.
While the elaborate fraud was going on, developmental projects were
stalled at the three schools due to lack of funds to pay the relevant
contractors.
The schools also could not subsidize the feeding of their students and
staff due to financial difficulties occasioned by the diversion of funds
allocated to them by the federal government.
When officials of the schools approached the suspect to know why
they were not receiving monies due to them, they were told by Mr.
Lawal that the government had not remitted the statutory funds into
the pay office accounts.
Investigations revealed that whenever the bursars of the affected
schools raised vouchers for the schools’ financial needs and sent same
to Mr. Lawal to credit the institutions’ accounts as was the usual
practice, Mr. Lawal always claimed that he had not received any funds
from the federal government.
Matters, however, got to a head when contractors started abandoning
ongoing projects due to the inability of the schools to fund such work.
Perhaps, unconvinced by the weak explanations given by Mr. Lawal,
the principal of one of the affected schools was said to have made
independent investigations to find out why the schools were no longer
receiving funds via the pay office.
She was said to have also travelled to the Federal Ministry of
Education and later to the Accountant General of the Federation,
AGF’s office in Abuja where, curiously, the AGF’s office initially did
nothing until the pressure and complaints from the schools became
unbearable. That was when the office forwarded a petition to the
ICPC, which launched an immediate investigation into the alleged
scam.
The initial findings of ICPC revealed a shocking scheme whereby the
suspect regularly moved funds meant for the three schools from the
pay office account and the CBN dedicated account into account owned
by fictitious companies.
This led to his subsequent arrest by the operatives of the commission.
He was said to have confessed to the crime while promising to refund
the looted funds.
As at last week, the ICPC, it was learnt, had recovered about N50
million from the suspect.
Investigations reveal that the suspect has equally paid N26, 237, 603.40
into the Federal Pay Office account, using one of his companies, SOG
Best, to issue the payment.
With a total amount of N76, 237, 603.40 already refunded by the
suspect, he is yet to account for the balance of N27, 433, 843.35.
Mr. Lawal has been granted administrative bail by the ICPC to enable
him pay back all the money he allegedly stole. Even as officials try to
recoup the stolen funds from him, there are so many questions still
begging for answers.
What kind of system allows a civil servant divert so much funds for so
long without raising suspicion? How did a key signatory to an account
be transferred from his/her post without being replaced? So many
questions but few answers.
Attempts to get the principals of the schools to speak on the matter
were fruitless as they declined comments. A. N. Bassey – Duke, the
principal of the Federal Governement College, Odogbolu and A.A.
Owolabi, principal of the Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu,
said they were civil servants and directed the reporter to the Federal
Ministry of Education in Abuja.
When our reporter visited the ministry to seek explanations, he was
directed to meet the deputy director, Press and Public Relations, Olu
Lipede, who however was not available for comments.
However, an assistant in the Press/Public Relations Unit of the
ministry, who simply identified himself as Abubakar, said he was not
aware of the details of the case so could not comment.
“I can’t comment on a case I don’t even know anything about. And
certainly I can’t even issue an official statement without the express
permission of my boss or the ministry,” he said.
The reporter also made efforts to get officials of the office of the
Accountant-General to comment on the matter and explain the delay
in acting on the initial petition it received but no one was ready to talk
to him.
The deputy director, Press and Public Relations, Kenechukwu Offie,
took down the reporter’s enquiries and promised to get back to him.
In a telephone interaction a few hours later, she said the office would
not comment on a matter still under investigation.
She added that at the appropriate time, when investigations have been
concluded by the ICPC, the OAGF would issue a statement if it
deemed it necessary.
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