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An ex-student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Mr. Ambrose Ezeanwani, who exposed a racket in the students’ bursary scheme in Delta state was handed over to men from the Delta State Government on Monday, April 28, 2014 after days of illegal detention in Lagos.
He was first detained in the police station in Sabo Lagos State and was transferred to Delta state after state officials asked for his transfer to Asaba.
Ezeanwani was president of the National Association of Delta State Students Union at the University of Lagos. During his tenure as president, he alleged that the bursary system was fraught with fraud, which was being perpetrated by men in the scholarship board in Delta State.
According to Sahara reporters:
Ezeawani alleged that the irregularities surfaced since the current Commissioner for Higher Education in the State, Mr. Hope Eghagha came on board. Mr. Eghagha a former professor at the University of lagos was a former newspaper columnist and critic of the Delta state government before bagging a government appointment a few years ago.
Ezeawani claims that Eghagha’s office had created a system for students bursary application where non-existing students are awarded bursary by the state.
He said in his investigation, which the UNILAG students’ records office corroborated, the names published as “approved” for bursary awards every year where non-existent in the Institution’s official records.
Ezeawani further stated that his research discovered that the office of the Commissioner for Higher Education in Delta State led by Eghagha had generated about 23,000 fake students and bank accounts and sorts codes throughout institutions across the country to siphon bursary funds while publishing fake names of beneficiaries in the print media every year.
Although few genuine names of students are mixed in the published bursary approval list every year, it is observed that most of the genuine students are shut out of the scheme while non-existing names are paraded.
Ambrose had led series of protest marches calling for investigations into the scam, however, the Economic and financial crimes Commission EFCC) to whom he directed his protests did nothing to investigate the fraud.
Last Wednesday on his way to Federal college of education (Technical) Akoka some men in mufti pulled up in front of him and attempted forcing him into their car. Ezeawani said he resisted and headed for the police station in Sabo instead. The men followed him and asked the police to hand him over but the police refused. The men apparently sent by the Delta state government then asked that Ezeawani be detained for them to go and prepare documents from Asaba to facilitate his hand over.
