A former registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dibu Ojerinde has been arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC).
On July 6, 2021, the ICPC arrested and charged Ojerinde with 18 counts of alleged misappropriation of funds totalling N5.2 billion.
According to the commission, the former registrar committed multiple frauds while leading JAMB and the National Examination Council (NECO).
Ojerinde pleaded not guilty to the allegations and was granted N200 million bail.
However, he was apprehended again in the Federal High Court Abuja car park as he was leaving after Justice Obiora Egwuatu adjourned his trial to February 15th.
The former JAMB Registrar was reportedly in the car park with one of his sons when he was approached by ICPC operatives, who whisked him away in their vehicle.
According to reports, Jimoh Olabisi, former JAMB deputy director, claimed in court on Wednesday that the former registrar used him to divert federal government funds.
Olabisi, an ICPC witness, stated this at the federal high court in Abuja.
On Wednesday, he told the court that he was in charge of opening accounts for JAMB and admitted to opening an account in the name of JAMB/J.O. Olabisi in a commercial bank on Ojerinde’s instruction.
He claimed that funds were transferred from the government’s coffers via this account.
“The authority to open the account — the letter to the bank — was jointly signed by Ojerinde and the then director of finance and accounts (DFA), Mallam Umar Yakubu, with a specific mandate that I should be the operator of that account,” Olabisi said
“I explained in one of my appearances here that the account was opened following an agreement between the defendant (Ojerinde) and myself as a way of deviating from what we were using in National Examinations Council (NECO) to divert public funds.
“So, the defendant subsequently discussed the issue with the DFA, hence the letter.”
The witness said the account was opened without approval from Jonah Otunla, the then accountant-general of the federation.
“However, the registrar convinced the then DFA. He told him that he had gotten the approval of the AGF who happens to come from the same zone as the defendant,” he said.
Olabisi also said Ojerinde owned a microfinance bank, Osanta Microfinance Bank Ltd while serving in government. He also admitted to being a director at the bank.
“I was put there to ease the movement of government money to the bank. The defendant is the chairman, board of directors of the bank,” he said.
The witness also said the ex-JAMB registrar used his position to award contracts to his private companies through the Zenith Bank account number, 1012411301, of JAMB.
Obiora Egwuatu, the judge, adjourned the matter until Thursday for the continuation of trial after a motion by Ebenezer Shogunle, the ICPC lawyer.
In 2021, the court remanded the former registrar to a prison facility.
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