OOU suspends 17 students for alleged internet fraud | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
1st February 2019
The management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye has suspended some 17 students for engaging in fraud.
These students who had been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since last November have since been arraigned in court over allegations bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, impersonation, and possession of false documents leveled against them.
The University’s Registrar, Olufemi Ogunwomoju who described the suspects as “unscrupulous elements” said they “edited the University’s portal via developer’s plugins available on their browser to present a misleading and untrue story about the Vice-Chancellor promoting fraud in the institution.”
He denied that the VC ever gave an undisclosed immoral statement on social media as he, personally, does not condone that among members of the university community.
“The Vice-Chancellor of the University has not at any time given and will not condescend to giving such an unlawful and immoral statement on the social media.
“The Vice-Chancellor and his Management team has, in fact,consistently demonstrated zero tolerance to anti-social activities and othereconomic crimes committed by any member of the University community.
“Such zero tolerance was recently demonstrated by the prompt suspension of the following underlisted students, pending the outcome of investigation of financial crimes on them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
The names of the suspended students as made available to EduCeleb.com are as follows:
EduCeleb.com recalls that the students were on 10th December, 2018 arraigned before two judges at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta over the aforementioned charges.
They all pleaded not guilty in the separate batches of sittings before Justice Ibrahim Watilat and Justice M.S. Abubakar.
Aside these OOU students, seven other students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) were also arrested and arraigned together.
Most of the accused had been granted bail on varying conditions while the case of 10 of the defandants denied bail was adjourned to 5th, 6th, 7th and 12th February, 2019.
Meanwhile, the management promised to cooperate “to the fullest” with the EFCC in the course of its investigations and will also take further “appropriate disciplinary measures” against any student indicted.
While warning the public to be wary of the activities of the suspects and their likely accomplices, the registrar reiterated that the OOU was committed to stamping out all forms of criminality from its campus.