The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Lagos, has called for proper investigation of allegations of purported financial impropriety against the management of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom state, by a staff, Jibrin Adamu, who was sacked in February 2021.
The Head of Penal Law at the CLO Headquarters, Princewill Akpakpan, said that proper investigation into the allegations has become necessary because the allegations of the Whistleblower and the counter-allegations of Ayode Akande, Counsel to the Rector of the Academy, Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (Rtd), are within the domain of the Academy.
According to Akpakpan, “the allegations and counter-allegations show that there is a big problem in the Maritime Academy”. Akpakpan condemned the sacking of Fibrin Adamu by the Academy after the allegations.
Adamu Jibrin, a staff of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, in the Audit Department, had in November 2020, accused the office of the Rector, the Bursar, Head of Procurement and the cashier, of using himself and other willing staffers in alleged fraud.
Adamu narrated that the management allegedly made payment of money into a selected staffers account, ordered the staff to retain little or small part of the sum, then returned the bulk sum in cash to the Finance/Bursary Department through some select staffers.
Adamu alleged that the payments were made as expenses for purported Duty Tour Allowance, Workshop and Training and Accommodation for government officials from Ministries, Auditor-General Office, Account-General, Presidency, National Assembly, and others, which the staffers, including him, never attended.
Adamu further alleged the Cashier of the Academy would then issue fake certificates and receipt of payment for the purported workshop and training.
According to Adamu, after about N 62.5 Million has passed through his bank account, he decided to opt out of the alleged fraudulent practice and alerted certain anti-corruption agencies.
He said that he was sacked in February 2021, after being issued a query and invited to a panel, alleging the panel members went to his residence and removed all fake certificates.
Counsel to Adamu, Michael Edet Akpan, subsequently, petitioned the EFCC, ICPC, National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Transportation, and others, in 2024, alleging systemic corrupt practices, and diversion of public funds to private pockets, against the management of the Maritime Academy.
Jibrin Adamu has approached the NationalIndustrialCourt, Abuja, for reinstatement of his appointment and payment of his salaries and allowances by the Academy.
Counsel to the Rector, Ayodeji Akande, in complaints to the Inspector General of Police in 2022 against counsels to Jibrin Adamu, refuted the corruption allegations again the Rector, describing them as malicious, disparaging, fabricated and concocted falsehood, as well as pernicious and frivolous petitions purposely to incite the Federal Government to sack Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (RTD) as the Rector of the Maritime Academy.
Counsel to the Rector accused Adamu’s lawyers of using an unregistered law firm with a fictitious and fake address to write several petitions against the Rector.
Akande also said that one of the lawyers, was a former External Solicitor to the Maritime Academy, and was sacked a few months after the appointment of Rector Effedua. The counsel alleged that the inability of the lawyer to convince Effedua to re-appoint him as External Solicitor, and proveN15 million indebtedness to him, for payment by the new Rector, led to the conspiracy and frivolous petitions in alliance with others.
Akande recalled that the Governing Council of the Academy sacked Jibrin Adamu for blackmailing his colleagues, arguing that the allegations and petitions were “maliciously and ostensibly acting out of vendetta…” He also said that their primary objective was to ensure that Commodore Effedua was not reappointed for the second term as the Rector of the Academy in September 2021.
Meanwhile, Jacob Brown Udobang, one of the lawyers, had protested that the complaints of the Rector to the Inspector General of Police and the subsequent actions were to intimidate, victimize him and others for the professional services rendered to Jibrin Adamu.
Meanwhile Barrister Princewill Akpakpan of the CLO urges the Federal Government to set up a panel of investigation because the Maritime Academy is a public institution, reiterating that proper investigation should be conducted, He also said that the Rector should step aside to allow proper investigation and if at the end the Rector is exonerated and the allegations are found to be false, the Rector can seek redress and should be compensated.
