ICPC Re-Arraigns Ex-JAMB Registrar, Ojerinde, Children, 6 Others…

The Independent Cor­rupt Practices and Other Related Offences Com­mission (ICPC) has again re-arraigned the former registrar of the Joint Ad­mission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde over allegations bordering on official cor­ruption, abuse of office and forgery.

According to a press statement issued by the ICPC spokesperson Azuka Ogugua on Thursday, Mr Ojerinde was docked on 17-count charges alongside his four children, and six other companies allegedly linked to him.

The children are: Mary Ojerinde, Olumide Ojeri­nde, Adebayo Ojerinde, Oluwaseun Ojerinde and six companies linked to him, namely: Doyin Ogbohi Petroleum Limited, Cheng Marbles Limited, Sapati International Schools Lim­ited, Trillium Learning Centre Limited, Standout Institutes Limited and Esli Perfect Security Printers Limited.

According to the state­ment, the ICPC in charge no: FHC//ABJ/CR/119/2023, brought before Justice In­yang Ekwo of the Federal High in Abuja, informed the court of the multiple lay­ers of fraudulent identities and conspiracies designed by the defendants to conceal crimes.

In one count out of a 17-count charge, the Com­mission through its coun­sel, Ebenezer Shogunle, told the Court of how the former JAMB boss conspired with three of his children (Olu­waseun Adeniyi Ojerinde, Olumide Abiodun Ojeri­nde and Adebayo Ojeri­nde) to sell off property situated at House No. 4 Ahomko Drive, Achimota Phase 2, Accra, Ghana even after the prop­erty had been forfeited to the Federal Republic of Ni­geria.

Mr Ojerinde was also ac­cused of incorporating the aforementioned companies and taking up simultaneous appointments as Chairman and Director, while being a public officer on full-time appointment as Registrar/ Chief Executive of Nation­al Examinations Council (NECO), Minna and the Joint Admission and Ma­triculation Board (JAMB), Bwari, knowing very well that the Code of Conduct for Public Officers forbids pub­lic officers from engaging in private business other than farming or participating in shareholding of joint stock companies.

The Court was also in­formed of how the 1st defen­dant (Ojerinde) in order to avoid various anti-corrup­tion and anti-money laun­dering policies of govern­ment, notably Know Your Customer (KYC) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) policies, took measures to conceal his ownership and active participation in the management of some of these companies by using forged documents, stolen identities and synthetic names.

As a result of some of these acts, the former JAMB registrar is also standing trial at the Niger State High Court as well as Federal High Court, Abuja for alleged corruption and other ancillary offences.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to them.

Bail was granted to Mr Ojerinde on terms earlier granted to him by the Feder­al High Court, Abuja, where he is standing trial while the four children were admitted bail in the sum of Twenty Million Naira (N20,000,000) each and a surety in like sums who must have land­ed properties not below the value of the bail sum and within the jurisdiction of the Court.

The trial judge, in hand­ing down the bail condi­tions, also ordered the other defendants to sur­render their international passports to the Court and must not travel outside the country without recourse to the Court, and that the Ni­geria Immigration Service be notified.

The matter was then ad­journed to the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th of November 2023 for hearing.