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JAMB ex-Registrar Dibu Ojerinde arrested over N900m fraud
BY NICHOLAS ABE
A former Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde, has been arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), for allegedly misappropriating N900 million public funds.
ICPC Spokesman, Azuka Ogugua, said in a statement issued on Wednesday that Prof Ojerinde was arrested on March 15, 2021, in Abuja.
He is alleged to have committed multiple frauds while heading JAMB and the National Examination Council (NECO).
“He has been detained by the Commission for questioning over allegations of multiple identities, abuse of office, money laundering, tax evasion, and making false statements to public officials.
“The former JAMB boss is also being questioned by the Commission for allegedly awarding fraudulent contracts to shell companies which cannot be traced,” the statement read.
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Ojerinde, according to Daily Trust, was also alleged to have awarded contracts for the supply of pencils and erasers at the cost of N450 million each, to Double 07 Concept Limited and Pristine Global Concept Limited, respectively, between 2013 and 2014 while he was the Chief Executive of JAMB.
“There is no evidence to show that the items which are examination materials were supplied as the contractors cannot be found.
“Similar contracts were allegedly awarded to Solid Figures Limited, Holywalk Limited, and other companies for various sums without any trace of executions,” Ogugua said in the statement.
He is currently being held on a remand warrant and will soon be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
Ojerinde was appointed as the Registrar of NECO in 1999, a position he held for eight years. After his tenure in 2007, he was appointed Registrar of JAMB, where he served for two terms of 10 years, between 2007-2017.