Five TASCE staff members arraigned for robbery, felony | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
12th September 2019
Five members of staff at Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu Ijebu, Ogun State were on Wednesday arraigned before the Magistrate court, Isabo, Abeokuta on five count charge of robbery, felony, stealing of the school’s payment vouchers, and unlawful break into one of the offices of the school.
They were also accused of unlawful disclosure of the official secret and documents of the crisis ridden college to members of the public through the internet and social media.
This was according to the charge sheet no MA/573c/2019 which showed that the suspects were said to have committed the offences between January and July of this year.
EduCeleb.com gathered that the Ogun state government-owned College of Education had for over five months been embroiled in crisis over the agitation of staff for payment of over 50 months backlog salaries as well as constitution of its Governing Council as spelt out by the acts that founded it.
Governor Dapo Abiodun had on assumption of office set up a a committee to help look into the crisis rocking the school and suggested the way forward. The commitee led by Kamaldeen Balogun had about 3 weeks ago submitted his reports to the government.
Balogun, a professor, while describing the situation in the school as a complete mess, had among other 33 recommendations urged the government to pay 3 month salaries to the staff as part of immediate solutions as well as proscription of Coalition of TASCE Staff (COTAS).
COTAS is the umbrella body with which the staff of the school had been agitating towards the payment of the backlog of salaries owed them for peace to reign in the school.
There was however a twist to the crisis when the leader of the proscribed COTAS, Dr Daniel Aborishade, and four other members of staff of the school namely; Mr Odunsi Omobolaji, Mr Seyi Akinola, Mrs Bakare Labake and Mrs Hembah Oluwatobi were arrested by the police over the last three days and subsequently arraigned before the Magistrate by the police.
Magistrate Bolanle Adebowale who presided over the case has however granted the suspects bail in the like sum of N500, 000 and two other sureties with with properties that worth N500,000 in the state. The case had been adjourned till 4th November, 2019 for trial.