The Makurdi zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a lecturer, Mr. Moses Peter Adoga, at the Nasarawa State High Court in Lafia for alleged misappropriation of N19, 765, 200 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) grant.
Adoga, who is a lecture in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, appeared before Justice Simon Aboki on Friday, June 8 on a one-count charge of dishonestly converting to other purposes a grant given to him for a PhD course overseas.
A petitioner had alleged that the lecturer obtained the TETFUND grant through the Nasarawa State University in 2010 for a PhD study in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Bangor University, United Kingdom.
Adoga, according to the petitioner, allegedly obtained the money under the guise of overseas PhD study and never presented any evidence of going or graduating, eight years after he received the money.
According to EFCC, the defendant’s statement of account showed that he diverted the money to business and sundry purposes.
The charge reads: “That you Moses Peter Adoga, sometime in 2011 in Keffi within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, being entrusted with the sum of N19, 765, 200 from TETFUND paid into your United Bank for Africa account through Nasarawa State University Diamond Bank Account, for the purpose of academic staff training and development at Bangor University in the United Kingdom, did dishonestly convert same to your own use and thereby committed a criminal breach of trust contrary to section 311 and punishable under section 312 of Penal Code Laws.”
He pleaded his innocence of the charge.
Subsequently, the prosecution counsel, Ms. Mary Onoja prayed for a date for the commencement of trial.
She also prayed that the defendant be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing of his bail application.
However, the defence counsel, S. K. Sheltu orally applied for bail which the judge granted in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.
The judge ruled that Adoga should surrender his international passport to the registrar of the court and adjourned the case till July 10, 2019 for commencement of trial.
