FULL TEXT OF PETITION FROM EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE NIGERIA
The Executive Secretary,
National Universities Commission,
26, Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama, Abuja.
Dear Sir,
True Reflection of Tansian University Since Inception And The Need For Immediate And Decisive Action To Address Concerns, And Restore A Positive And Fair University
We, the undersigned, are concerned about troubling issues that have arisen within the Tansian University in Anambra State since its inception, which we believe not only undermine the integrity of National Universities Commission (NUC) but also compromise the future of thousands of past and present students associated with it.
This piece is intended to address the assertions and claims made by one Innocent Ukeh and Daniel Igwilo (Registrar) during a recent meeting with the management team of National Universities Commission, NUC, led by Noel Biodun Saliu as Deputy Executive Secretary, (Academics).
Through this channel, we aim to provide a comprehensive response to their barrage of lies before the Commission, also to clarify the relevant facts, offer counterarguments, and demonstrate why the NUC should OFFICIALLY DIRECT the University to immediately dismiss Barr. Edwin Obiora, Innocent Ukeh and Daniel Igwilo for engaging in a series of actions that undermine the integrity of the University, including circumvention of established standard of private university like Tansian University, forgery, power struggles and the fabrication of false University Law, Board of Trustees and Governing Council.
Since its establishment, the Nigerian University Commission (NUC), in line with its mandate, it has been at the forefront of orderly development of a well-coordinated and productive university system that will guarantee quality and relevant education for national development and global competitiveness. We believe that the Commission is also empowered to rectify corruption in prone Universities like Tansian University, bringing about reduced incidences of breach of standard so as to better service delivery.
Given the Commission’s position and mandate, it is not therefore out of place to report practices circumventing educational standard, and integrity of Tansian University.
This report is based on painstaking information gathering, evidential complains, public observations, testimonies and evidence which establish the following against the university:
Subversion of justice and disobedience of Court Consent Judgment, High Court Order and Court of Appeal Ruling
Unresolved Ownership Crisis’
Indiscriminate dissolution of Board of Trustees and Governing Council
Degree Certificate Racketeering
Forgery and Falsification of Academic Transcripts of Students
Perpetuation of Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences
Contract Scam
Issuance of Bounced Cheques
Obtain by False Pretense
The Commissioner was factually accurate when it opined that Late Msgr Prof John Bosco Akam ran the university as sole-proprietorship, and does changes without recourse to the original members of the board of trustees on conception of the University – viz: Chief M.O.C. Morah (Academic Developmet), Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka (Financier), Chief Nze Raph Obiora (Physical Project Development) and Msgr John Bosco Akam (Facilitator).
Subsequently, Dame V.V.I. Okoye, Sir Sam Obaji, Dr. Eloka Menakaya, Chief Vincent Oforlebe and the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha were brought on board.
Regrettably, Msgr Prof Akam went from behind, without recourse to the board, substituted the entire members with Rev. Bro. Paulinus Okonkwo, Rev. Bro Peter Ejikeme, Prof. M.O.C. Morah and Msgr Prof Akam.
He constituted new Governing Council to include: Chief M.O.C. Morah, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, Chief Nze Raph Obiora and Msgr John Bosco Akam, Dame V.V.I. Okoye, Sir Sam Obaji, Dr. Eloka Menakaya, Chief Vincent Oforlebe and Missionary Servants of the Church and Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha.
In his desperate bid to shade off the co-proprietors, investors, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, Chief Nze Raph Obiora, Chief Sam Obaji, Dr. Eloka Menakaya, and Chief Vincent Ofolebe, again, Msgr Akam, dissolved the entire Government Council and constituted a new Council without reference to NUC. This triggered protest letters to the NUC by the co-proprietors and investors. After raged crises, NUC in its wisdom, suspended the provision license of Tansian University and requested the university to constitute a Board Of Trustees, Governing Council, and defined Management Structures and resolve all the ownership crises. Working on NUC directive, the entire Governing Council were returned and additional members were added: Prof Placid Njoku, Rev. Fr. Anthony Asoanya, Efrader Edozie Uraih, Barr. Robinson Akpua, Chief Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Chukwu Enemchukwu (Oba of Oba), Dr. Stella Asugwara (Registrar) and Paul Nnolim (Bursar).
When the Council members requested that the Board of Trustees be resolved to reflect original changes as directed by the NUC, surreptitiously, and again, Msgr. Akam disbanded the entire Council, and opted to negotiate with Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka to pay rent “honorarium” of N10,000,000 annually to occupy his properties (Ranent Industries Ltd) and continue to use such as takeoff/temporary site of the University.
A peace and reconciliation committee was set after which a consent judgment was entered between Msgr Akam/Tansian University and Chief Ezeonwuka and Ranent Industries Company Ltd at Anambra High Court. The out of court settlement and consent judgment bonded the settlement while options were weighed to sort other investors.
Tansian University continued to pay the honorarium for seven (7) years, without agitation or hesitation. Subsequently, Tansian University avoided NUC like a plaque. Prof. Uzoegwu was later appointed as the Pro-Chancellor and a new Governing Board was formed.
Few years into the partial peaceful Tansian University, one Rev. Obiorah Edwin tore to asunder the relationship between Tansian University and Ranent Industries Company Ltd. He jumbled Msgr Akam to stop the payment of “Honorarium” to Ranent Industries and headed to court to challenge the Consent Judgment. Fortunately, from the two High Court judgments and the Appeal Court Judgment, Chief Ezeonwuka and his Company won the cases; and the court ordered the University “TO IMMEDIATELY VACATE THE PREMISES OF RANENT INDUSTRIES COMPANY LTD AND PAY ALL RENTS ACCRUED” (all the courts’ judgments were submitted to NUC).
After the demise of Msgr Prof. John Bosco Akam, hawkers like Fr. Edwin Obiora, Innocent Uke and cohort hijacked the university and commercialized the Degree on “pay and collect”. They were never part of the university from inception, not as Board of Trustees members of Governing Council.
Fr. Obiora and Mr Innocent Uke, Mr. Dan Igweilo (fake Reverends) and their co-hawks are holding the university by the jugglers, violating every single rules and principles of the establishment of the university.
The University has continued to engage in negligent and intentional subversion of the laid down protocols rand measures aimed at guaranteeing the sanctity of admission processes, as required and put in place by academic benchmark of the NUC.
The process of admission at the University is an unfair, skewed and rigged process, in which parents could buy admission into any level of University or Degree Certificates, through bribery and dishonest schemes; this has in no small way aided unqualified students find their way into the admission’s rolls of the University and event out of the University.
A good example, students who transferred with fake transcripts from Madonna University, Caritas University and others, were placed on 400 levels, 300 levels, which run contrary to the standard requirements of admission procedures in Nigeria, both in federal, state and/or private Universities. Students who are abinitio admitted on part-time programmes are mobilized for NYSC in a process tainted by bribes; while also the university’s certificate/transcripts are racketeered and marketed to the highest bidders through unapproved affiliated institutes.
Some of the institutes through which the University ‘SELLS’ its Certificates are:
FIDEI POLYTECHNIC, GBOKO, Benue State, (09032717093, 0903 271 7093);
MAHADUM EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD, Yy2, Abuja Road Kaduna, Action World Educational Service 08035294306
TUT EDUCATIONAL CENTRE, 3rd Floor, Nigeria Real Insurance Building , Herbart Macauley Way, CBC, Abuja;
TUT EDUCATIONAL CENTRE, 19 Okunola Abass Street New Bodije, Ibadan.
ACTION WORD EDUCATIONAL SERVICE LIMITED, 7th Avenue, H1 Close, House 7, FESTAC Town, Lagos – Nigeria. (07061001502, 08069761618, 08035294558)
Again, the University is involved in the deceitful practices of floating unapproved academic programmes and collecting school fees running into hundreds of millions from unsuspected students/parents. The latest were Faculty of Law and Nursing respectively. The faculties were floated three years ago with a total students’ population of 470, long before the NUC were invited for Resource Verification, as required by Minimum Academic Benchmark. The Law Faculty was established with neither approval of NUC and Council of Legal Education, nor the required manpower and infrastructural requirement/requisite.
Most worrisome, the frauds, extortions, deceptions perpetuated by caterpillars and cankerworms (Innocent Ukeh and Fr Edwin Obiora who surrounded Msgr. Akam at his later years on earth.
Few weeks before he died, Msgr. Akam was angered, as never seen before, demanding from the Innocent Ukeh, Mr. Felix Ajayi and Emmanuel Onwuegbunam to return over One Hundred millions naira they had “extorted” from him for over three years in the pretense of assisting him secure botched “Foreign Funds,” “Dropping”, Counterparts Funding, Loan, Grants etc etc.
The disappointment, the frustration, the shock of constantly waiting hopelessly for the “Foreign Funds,” “Dropping”, Counterparts Funding, Loan, Grants etc etc as assuranced by the trio cancerous cankerworms and cronies, pained Msgr Akam’s heart”, and of course he died with broken heart. Therefore Innocent Uke was never a member of Board of Trustees of Tansian Uiversity while Msgr Akam was alive.
The perplexity at some of the enormous extortions, embezzlements and forgery by those who pretended to be assisting him in botched loan deals with humongous debts, unrecoverable huge losses, and of course at his age, the consequences of such losses toke tolls on his health and he died on February 4, 2021, at 10:44pm, in Abuja Hospital at the age of 73.
Innocent Uken was and is still a strayed member of Msgr Akam congregation, he as expelled by the priestly formator, and Bishop of Ijebu Ode Diocese, he staged palace coupe in a desperate attempt to hold on to power after the demise of Msgr. Akam. He engaged in lots of “criminal conspiracy” that brought Msgr. Akam financial power to its knees, by implications endangered his health.
We have, as part of our crusade to rid our country of corruption, carried out discreet but thorough investigation into the case of forgery against one Mr. Innocent Ukeh. He forged signature of the Founder of Tansian University, Very Rev. Msgr. Prof. John Bosco Akam, to register one awkward Missionary Son of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation in the Corporate Affairs Commission as to hijack the university from the original proprietors.
Please find attached the following;
fake statement of result as issued by one of the University’s affiliate center)
Petitions against the University
As you are already aware, in the year 2007 the commission granted the Incorporated Trustees of the Missionary Servants of the Church the licence to operate Tansian University Umunya, Anambra State. The Missionary Servants of the Church was registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission since 1995. In 2018, the Trustee and members commenced deliberation and move to change the name of the said Missionary Servants of the Church to Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation.
However, the move for change of name was hijacked by some individual who proceeded to commence and cause a fresh registration of Incorporated Trustee of Church to Missionary Son of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation. None of the trustee of Missionary Servants of the Church was part of the registration process of Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation.
The only Trustee of Missionary Servants of the Church whose name and details also appears as a Trustee of Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation, along with other strange names, is Very Reverend Monsignor John Bosco Akam. However the signature of Very Reverend Monsignor John Bosco Akam was forged on the documents presented to CAC for registration of Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation. There also was no newspaper publication notifying the general public of the change of name, no notice of incorporation in the national dailies as required by law and CAC procedure.
The purported signature of Msgr. Akam appended on the registration documents of Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation did not emanate from Msgr. Akam (now deceased). Find attached, fake signature of Msgr. Akam as appended on the CAC documents and other official documents signed by Akam for your analysis conclusion).
With the recent death of Msgr Akam, the same persons hiding under the Incorporated Trustee of Missionary Sons of Blessed Iwene Tansi Congregation, have now hijacked the management and operations of Tansian University from the proprietors, Incorporated Trustee of Missionary Servants of the Church.
We therefore, hereby humbly appeal your respected office to immediately take up the investigation by contacting Corporate Affairs Commission for necessary verification and where these allegations are found true, do the needful to ensure restoration of the University to its proprietors and possibly bring the perpetrators of the forgery to book.
We are of the strong view that the actions of the management of Tansian University in the circumstances stated above clearly constitute criminal offences of Fraudulent Misrepresentation, Corrupt Enrichment, Fraud, Obtaining by False Pretenses, Issuance of Dud Cheque among other related offences punishable under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
We are of the view that, the various acts exhibited and engaged in by the Management of Tansian University run fouls of laws establishing universities in Nigeria.
In view of all the above, we humbly beg that you use your good office to look at the complaints and intervene with a view to:
(i) Reining in Tansian University to vacate the premises of Ranent Industries Company Ltd and pay up the arrears of rents.
(ii) Take step that will most likely prevent the criminal and forgers like Fr Obiorah and Innocent Ukeh and cohorts from hijacking the University.
(iii) Prevent unlicenced persons/organization from hijacking management and operation of the University.
(iv) Possible prosecution of the acts of criminality, such as;
(a) Fraudulent misrepresentation,
(c) Impersonation, forgery & fraud,
(d) Obtaining money by false pretense
(c) Fraudulent dealings with the University.
The integrity and reputation of Tansian University are at stake, and the wellbeing of its students must be prioritized. We believe that addressing these issues with urgency and transparency is crucial for restoring trust and ensuring a positive and equity for all.
While counting on your quick intervention; please accept the assurances of our highest esteem.
Dr. Lawal Mohammed, PhD
National President
On behalf of Equal Justice Initiative Nigeria.