9th February 2017

Our Ref: CATBAN/NUC-PT-UNILORIN-001

The Honorable Minister of Education
Mallam Adamu Adamu
Federal Minister of Education
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,

Dear Sir,

PETITION FOR INVESTIGATION INTO THE SYSTEMIC FRAUD, MASSIVE ADMISSION SCAM, ENDEMIC CORRUPTION & EXTORTION OF OVER N40 MILLION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Citizens Action To Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN) writes to call for immediate investigation into the systemic fraud, massive and consistent admission scam, endemic corruption and extortion of over N40million from newly admitted students at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

CATBAN’s investigative team gathered that the University of Ilorin often deliberately issues admission to students in excess of their admission capacity and quota, hoping to drain the additional students of their hard earned resources before sending them back home empty handed with unreasonable explanations. After they must have paid all the necessary fees, rented accommodation and attended lectures for months, victims will eventually be told that they had fake admissions or that they have unacceptable results.

CATBAN’s investigations also reveals that since the appointment & subsequent resumption of duties by the current Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, University of Ilorin has fraudulently admitted thousands of students more than they can officially cater for, who have been victims of this properly articulated scam. This fraudulent practice, we learned, has been consistent since 2013.

In the current 2016/2017 academic session, CATBAN was reliably informed that over 2000 new students that paid the N20,000 acceptance fee have been asked to go home by the University. They were sent home after the University had received over N40 million as acceptance fee from them. According to the victims, no reasonable explanation was provided by the University, other than claims of ‘’unacceptable results’’, whatever that means. Our investigations have revealed that this is not the first time such is happening in the University. For the past 3 to 4 years, the University has consistently extorted thousands of students through this wicked practice and unduly claimed millions of naira fraudulently for the University.

CONTEXUALIZING THE FRAUD
In 2013/2014 academic session, over 300 new intakes were sent back home after paying all fees. Some of these students actually came in through direct entry and were admitted into 200 levels. However, after paying all fees as demanded by the University, they were told to go home over what they described as unjustifiable admission, whatever that means.

In 2014/2015 academic session, another 400 students were sent back home with various excuses, one of which was placement in wrong course of study. What that meant was that the students were given admission into the wrong courses and instead of transferring them to the appropriate courses of studies; they were asked to go home without refunding all the fees they paid.

In 2015/2016 session, over 1000 students were sent back home after paying acceptance fees. Another 150 new intakes were sent back home 2 weeks to their examination, over what the University described as getting admission through fraudulent means. Those students were earlier cleared by the University and they had paid all required fees, bought all books, wrote all tests and were preparing for their examinations before the University concocted the false allegation to achieve its fraudulent practice of reducing the number of intakes. The fraudulent management in University of Ilorin alleged that these student got admission through fraudulent means. The University claimed that mercenaries (referring to their staff) helped the students gain admission through shortcut, but no staff was handed over to the police for prosecution, yet students who are unaware of any fraud were sent back home without their fees returned.

In our determined quest to establish the truth in this matter, we solicited attention with some of the past victims and they spoke with us about what happened last year. Those we spoke with vehemently denied ever getting admission through any fraudulent means or staff of the University as the management claimed. As a matter of fact, they insisted that they knew no one from the University prior to their admission. They applied like every other student from far and near and got admission based on merit, proceeded to pay all fees and resumed studies, only to be told 2 weeks to their examinations that they should go back home. They revealed that after their ordeal, they were threatened and silenced by the University authorities.

In the current academic session, over 2000 new intakes have been asked to go home after paying over N40 million as acceptance fee. Unlike the past victims that couldn’t withstand the threats, the affected students marched in their numbers to protest the injustice. They called on all well-meaning Nigerians to come to their rescue, hence CATBAN’s intervention in the matter.
In its response to CATBAN’s claims that over 2000 new students were affected, the University, through its Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun claimed that only 861 were affected. But in its usual style of threat and blackmail, it also accused the affected students of committing malpractice and fraud, just like it accused the previous victims.

In order to ensure the affected students didn’t commit any wrong doing, we investigated the claims of the University and found it to be spurious, baseless and unfounded. Contrary to the claims by the University that the affected students supplied false information and results, we are confidently stating that the students didn’t supply any false results; neither did they supply wrong details. The error that occurred was due to hacking of the University’s portal and such cannot be blamed on the students.

For the University to claim that over 2000 students supplied what it described as “unacceptable results” is strange and questionable. And these are questions for the University to answer:

1. How and why will over 2000 innocent admission seekers supply false results only to University of Ilorin?
2. How did the University come to that conclusion, when the students original results doesn’t contradict what was supplied to the University?
3. How come the University receives millions from students every year, only to ask them to go home just before examination with flimsy excuses?
4. Even when the University is aware that they are the source of the error, how come no refunds were ever made to the students in previous occasions?
5. How come the same situation continues to repeat itself every year only at University of Ilorin?

CATBAN believes that the consistently sending home of thousands of students, after initially giving them admission year after year, without refunding fees paid by them is questionable and strange. We have cause to believe this is a deliberate scam designed to fraudulently extort innocent students by those in privileged positions.

We are therefore calling for an immediate investigation into the matter and demand that all those found wanting should be adequately punished.

We also demand that no student should be punished for the University’s error. No admitted student should be sent back home without concrete evidence of wrong doing on the part of the student. And finally, No admitted student should be sent back home without adequate refund of their fees and expenses during their stay in the University, should that be the case.

This petition is to provide ample opportunity for your office to promptly intervene in other to prevent break down of law and order in the University as CATBAN is determined to defend the rights of the affected students.

Thanking you for your kind attention & prompt action

Yours in National Service,
Ibrahim Garba Wala FOR: CATBAN Coalition
www.catban.org.ng

See