Lecturer sentenced to five years for diverting study grant

A former academic staff member of Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Kebbi State, Muhammed Sani Nuhu, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for deviously allotting over N6 million belonging to the polytechnic to himself.

This was after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had secured his conviction.

According to a statement by the Commission Spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, on Tuesday, in a 4-count brought before Hon. Justice Hassan Usman of the Kebbi State High Court, Birnin Kebbi Judicial Division, the Commission stated that Nuhu, conferred a corrupt advantage on himself when he converted into personal use the sums of “two million Naira (N2,000,000:00) in 2015 and four million, one hundred and seventy-three thousand, four hundred Naira (N4,173,400:00) in 2016.”

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It was revealed that Nuhu, a dismissed academic staff member of the polytechnic, received the monies under a special grant offered to him to attend an international conference in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and the first tranche of payment advanced to him for the Doctor of Philosophy programme at the University of Technology Malaysia, respectively.

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In charge No. KB/HC/4C/2020, counsel to the ICPC, Mashkur Salisu, was said to have told the court in a two-year trial that the convict refused to embark on the said programme and converted the money to his personal use.

His action was contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, as well as Section 311 of the Penal Code, and punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Law (Cap 89) Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963.

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The trial judge found the former poly lecturer guilty on counts one to three and dismissed count four levelled against him.

In his judgement, therefore, Justice Usman sentenced him to five years imprisonment on each of the three counts.

The court also held that the convict made restitution of the sum of N6.5m million, which was the proceeds of the crime, to the Federal Government. The sentences are to run concurrently.