Philomina Chieshe, the official
of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), who claimed that the
board’s N36 million was swallowed by a snake, has made a U-turn.
Chieshe, who works as a clerk at
the JAMB office in Markurdi, Benue state, had told top officials of the
examination body that a “mysterious snake” swallowed the money derived from the
sale of JAMB scratch cards.
But when she appeared before the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), she confessed that the money
was collected by one Samuel Umoru, her
superior.
According to The Nation, the EFCC
has interrogated Chieshe on several occasions since she made the ridiculous
statement in February.
“The interesting aspect of the
disclosure is that Chieshe’s statement (on snake swallowing the money) was
obtained long before the snake and naira swallowing testimony became public
knowledge,” an EFCC official was quoted
as saying.
“In all her statements before the
EFCC, there was no mention of any episode of any snake and the disappearance of
monies in her care.”
“In a fact-sheet regarding the
investigations, Chieshe was quoted to have said her superior — the coordinator
at the Markurdi office — had asked her to withdraw the N36 million.”
According to the newspaper, the
fact-sheet notes that “contrary to her claim before the leadership of the
examination body that the N36 million proceeds from sale of scratch cards were
eaten up by a snake, Chieshe told operatives of the anti-graft agency that the
money was collected piecemeal from her by her coordinator, Mr. Samuel Sale
Umoru.
“In one of the statements she
volunteered to the EFCC, Chieshe, who is a clerk in the Makurdi office of JAMB,
revealed that the coordinator usually asked her to withdraw proceeds of the
sale of the scratch cards from her account in two new generation banks — ‘this
money I withdrew, the coordinator used it for the office and some time for
himself.”
It also quoted her as saying she
had been warning Umoru “that it was improper to use the money for miscellaneous
expenses in the office or for private purposes but he would not listen.”
The fact-sheet added that the
coordinator did not deny the allegations and had been released on
administrative bail.
It listed other JAMB officials
being probed to include Tanko Labaran, who could not account for N23 million
from sale of scratch cards at the Nasarawa office, and Yakubu Jakada who is yet
to explain the whereabouts of N20 million e-facilities cards sold in Kano
office.
The suspects are said to have
been released on bail pending the conclusion of investigation.
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