Ex-ABU VC, Bursar Arraigned For N1bn Fraud

Professor Ibrahim Garba, and Ibrahim Shehu Usman, former Vice Chancellor and Bursar respectively of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, have been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering.

In a statement on Thursday, the EFCC said they were arraigned before Justice A.A Bello of the Kaduna State High Court on an eight count charge bordering on theft and money laundering to the tune of over N1billion.

The arraignment followed months of discreet investigation triggered by a petition accusing the duo of diverting monies meant for the renovation of the popular Kongo Conference Hotel, Zaria.

The investigation established that over one billion Naira was allegedly stolen from different accounts of the institution by the defendants and diverted into their private accounts.

Daily Trust had reported how crisis broke out at ABU towards the end of Garba’s tenure.

The Governing Council of the school had asked the VC to leave before the end of his tenure, a directive that Garba vehemently resisted.

Although his tenure was to elapse on April 30, 2020, he was directed to leave on March 1, 2020.

The embattled V-C had told Daily Trust at the time that if the directive for him to leave was advisory, he was not willing to go until the end of his stipulated five years in office.

In a letter addressed to him, the Registrar of the university, A. A. Kundila, the council headed by its Chairman, Malam Adamu Fika (Wazirin Fika), directed Prof. Garba to proceed on terminal leave with effect from March 1, 2020.

The letter, which was copied the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Inspector General of Police, Director, Department of State Service, among others, asked the vice-chancellor to handover leadership of the university to the deputy vice-chancellor, Academic.

The two-paragraph letter seen by this newspaper reads: “At the 190th (emergency) meeting of the Governing Council of the university held on Thursday, 6 February 2020, council resolved and directed that you should proceed on terminal leave from 1 March 2020.

“You are to handover the instruments of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor to Prof. D. A. Ameh, the deputy vice-chancellor (Academic) who will manage the affairs of the university until the new vice-chancellor assumes duty on 1 May 2020.”