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EFCC ,YABATECH And the Injustice of
the Governing Council
By Akeju
J. Babatunde Sep 22,2011
Introduction
1)
In my official position as the Bursar of Yaba College of
Technology, I kicked against financial irregularities and non
adherence to due process during the tenure of Chief Mrs
Odugbesan as the Rector of the Institution. I received support
from her on this matter as a result of which the institution
then recorded a tremendous progress.
2)
From the moment Mr Owoso assumed office as (successor to
Chief Mrs Odugbesan) Rector of the College I had constantly come
into conflict with him over issues touching on his fiscal and
financial recklessness in the management of the college funds.
He was averse to criticisms and legitimate financial reforms
that were entrenched and applicable in managing the finance of
the College before he assumed office.
3)
My anti- corruption disposition and abounding commitment
to integrity ,honesty, transparency and due process brought me
into constant conflict with Mr Owoso over the management and
manifest embezzlement of funds and resources of the College
4)
Towards the end of my tenure as the college’s bursar I
had to write the anti –graft agencies( I.e. EFCC and I.C.P.C)
detailing to them those irregularities which I
was made
handicapped to fight
so that I will not be taken as being an
accomplist in case of
future investigation.
5)
In 2008, the EFCC invited me (as the immediate past
bursar of Yabatech) for interrogation on a separate petition
presented by some other persons against the same former Rector,
Mr. Olubunmi Owoso.
I performed my civic obligation by giving evidence to the EFCC
as required by law to assist the anti-graft agency in the
performance of its functions.
(6 ) It was against the back drop of the evidence I gave in
paragraph 5 above that the EFCC invited Mr Olubunmi Owoso on the
issues at stake as it relates to the mismanagement of Yaba
College of Technology Primary and Secondary Schools funds which
said case is still
under investigation till date Persecutions. Since the occurrence
of the events in paragraphs 5 and 6 above Mr Owoso had on his
own and with the assistance of other persons, increased the
momentum with which they oppressed me. Some of my ordeals in
their hands include (but was not limited to):-
1)
My entitlements in office
and exit entitlements as the
institutions bursar were seized
2)
Threat calls and messages to deal with me were sent to my
mobile phone
3)
Spiritual wars were wagged against me and my family to
the extent that my wife
Mrs Agnes Nwada Akeju mysteriously took ill and died
4)
Curious armed robbers came to my residence while my late
wife was still in the mortuary and went away with our belongings
5)
Stoppage of my salary
on the excuse that I was not around during a staff audit
done when I went to
bury my wife,
6)
Refused to pay me
salary from
1ST August 2008 till date despite the fact that I actively
performed all my official duties till 15TH April 2009 when I was
illegally dismissed from
the service of the college
7)
Gave me query for giving information to the EFCC .
From late 2007 to March 2009 when Mr.Owoso was visiting these
assaults on me, there was no governing council in the college
from whom one could seek redress. He effectively blocked all
accesses to intervention from the Federal Ministry of Education.
When nobody could persuade him to release my salary to me and
stop his act of lawlessness against me, I filled a case against
my continuous victimization at Federal High Court Ikoyi Lagos on
29th October 2008 seeking
protection from
the court for various victimization and harassment of Mr
Owoso and his agents and also to make him pay me my legitimate
entitlements which he unilaterally placed embargo upon .The case
is still pending till date and he and his cohorts have been
using all their connections to frustrate the
case
Injustice of The Governing Council.
Then came in the present governing council of the college
presided over by Elder Joju Fadairo (the former chairman of PDP
in Ogun State). In her inaugural meeting held in the college
between the 14th and 16th April 2009, the council gave a seal of
approval to all the treatments melted out to me by Mr Owoso. The
honorable council went further in that inaugural meeting to
hurriedly dismiss me from service without setting eyes on me or
hearing from me to defend myself (of any allegations) as laid
down in section 17 of the polytechnic act of 2004. Thus the
council dismissed me not minding the fact that the judiciary had
been handling this case for five months before the council came
into existence. All efforts including correspondences Personal
visits to the chairman
and certain members of the council and intervention of highly
influential members of the society to allow justice to prevail
on this unjustified dismissal were turned down by the honorable
governing council.
My offer to resign
(since they don’t want me in the college) to enable me exit
honorably and afford me opportunity to seek employment somewhere
else was also rejected. The council insisted that I must forfeit
my access to legal redress (from the court I had approached for
redress against the injustice done to me) before the council can
take the option to compulsorily retire me. It is also an irony
that recently the council claimed that it could not attend to
the E.F.C.C. request for an explanation on my unlawful dismissal
because the case is in court despite the fact that the same
council went ahead to dismiss me from service when the case was
already five months old
before the council came into existence.
As a result of the above hard stand of the council and her
malevolent disposition towards me, I and my dependants have
suffered untold hardship, humiliation and torment. I do not
deserve the shabby and hostile manner the honorable governing
council of the college has treated me from inception to date.
Invisible and Untouchable People
Mr Owoso and his cohorts are neither afraid of the judiciary nor
do they respect it for it is while I was seeking justice in the
court that they ignored the court proceedings to dismiss me.
Also they do not respect nor fear the anti graft agencies
because it is because I gave information to the EFCC that made
him organize my dismissal. There is nothing they cannot do. The
offence that led to the sacking of the entire management and the
governing council of the Kaduna Polytechnic is similar to and
even of less rotten dimension compared to that committed by
Owoso and his then management team. While the offenders were
punished in the Kaduna polytechnic’s case it is me who refused
to participate in sharing of the loots and
who exposed the financial rots to
the law enforcement
agents that is dismissed from the service because Owoso and his
cohorts are highly connected and influential which position he
used to cover his various mismanagement and corrupt practices.
Determination To Ruin My Life
Mr owoso and his cohorts do not want me in Yaba College of
Technology to serve as punishment for giving information to EFCC
and also to keep me away because according to them “if Akeju
remains in Yaba Tech, he won’t chop and will not allow us to
chop”. My offer to
resign (since they don’t want me in the college) to enable me
exit honorably and afford me opportunity to seek employment
somewhere else was rejected. They insisted that I must remain
dismissed thereby sentencing me to a life of penury just because
I gave information to the EFCC and refused to comment on a case
before a court of competent jurisdiction. It is over three years
now that I was last paid salary all my entitlements as principal
officer of the college for years are also seized, the case
filled in the court against
my victimization is
almost three years old and still ongoing, my access to justice
has continuously been blocked while assistance is being
prevented from getting to me.
All interventions of important and high profile
dignitaries in the nation on this case were frustrated by the
immediate past Rector Mr Olubunmi Owoso who had left in place
after his exit, loyalists in the college that ensured that every
successive attempt to revisit the case of injustice meted on me
is handicapped.
Up till the present time Mr Owoso and his cohorts are still
openly and secretly taking actions to frustrate my access to
justice. He and some of his associates have been carrying out
successive diabolical spiritual attacks on me and my family
aimed at terminating my life or and to render me financially
handicapped. He and his cohorts have vowed to pursue me to the
extent that I will auction my property to feed. These types of
things are realities that are not uncommon in our African
society and belief.
Conclusions
For giving information to the EFCC
and for my anti –corruption disposition and abounding
commitment to integrity honesty and transparency I and my
dependants have suffered untold hardship and humiliation and
torments. Before I was wrongly dismissed by the council at the
behest of Mr. Owoso
I had worked meritoriously for about twenty-one (21) years and
had served the institution in various capacities i.e. senior
lecturer, principal lecturer, chief lecturer, acting head of
department, head of department, acting
director of school,
acting bursar and substantive bursar . Ironically, it is on
record that Mr. Olubunmi Owoso and his cronies were never in
doubt of my competence, integrity and transparency as contained
in the letters of Mr. Owoso dated the 20th of July 2004 and that
of Mrs. F. F. Taiwo, Registrar, Yaba College of Technology dated
the 29th July 2004 respectively. Many highly placed men and
women in this nation (including my numerous ex- students) can
testify to my character and my principled life style.
I am neither a trouble maker nor an arrogant person. I
love peace, harmony, honesty, dedication and hard work. I have
no regret for performing civic responsibility
of honoring the invitation of EFCC and not concealing
information from her. All that happened to me are possible
because GOD approved them. I accept them as the will of GOD in
my life. However am appealing to the good and noble people of
this nation and throughout the world not to allow Mr.
Owoso and his cohorts to ruin my life before it is too
late for rescue mission to get to me. I am therefore
passionately appealing to the good people of Nigeria and all
over the world to come to my rescue to enable me get access to
justice and save me from life of penury so as not to auction my
property to feed as planned by Mr. Owoso and his cohorts.
Thank you and GOD bless
This piece was origainally titled: 'My Ordeal as an An
Anti Corruption Crusader '
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