Lecturer On Trial For Allegedly Converting N19 Million Ph.D. Study Grant

A university lecturer was on Friday arraigned before a Nasarwa State High Court for allegedly diverting N19 million provided by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TertFUND for his Ph.D. studies to business and other uses.

Seven after he was supposed to have finished his study, the lecturer has yet to show evidence that he embarked on the study in the United Kingdom, the court was told.

Moses Adoga, a lecturer at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned  before Justice Simon O. Aboki of the Nasarawa State High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The N19.7 million grant was channeled into his Diamond Bank account in the Nasarawa State University from TETFUND in 2010 “for the purpose of Academic staff training and development at Bangor University in the United Kingdom,” but he was alleged to have dishonestly converted the money to other uses.

In view of his not guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Mary Onoja prayed for a date for the commencement of trial. She also prayed that the defendant be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing of his bail application.

However, the defense counsel, S. K. Sheltu orally applied for bail for his client and Justice Simon O. Aboki granted the defendant bail in the sum of N2, 000, 000 (Two Million Naira) with two sureties in like sum. The defendant is to surrender his international passport to the registrar of the Court.

The Judge adjourned the matter till July 10, 2019 for commencement of trial.

Troubles started for Adoga, a lecturer with the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Science, Nasarawa State University Keffi, when a petitioner alleged that the suspect obtained a Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) grant for the sum of N19, 756, 200 through Nasarawa State University in 2010 to study PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Bangor University, United Kingdom.

He obtained this money under disguise of overseas PhD training and never presented any evidence of going or graduating as he claimed and yet he kept giving excuses.

Analysis of his statement of account showed that the suspect diverted the funds for business and sundry purposes other than the reason why the funds were given.

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