Ex-JAMB Official Sentenced to 5 Years Imprisonment for Fraud

A former JAMB official has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud, marking a significant move in the fight against corruption in Nigeria’s education sector.

The Oyo State High Court in Ibadan has found a former Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) official, Olayiwola Oguntade, guilty of fraud and sentenced him to five years in prison.

In delivering the judgment, Justice Bayo Taiwo determined that the prosecution team, headed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), effectively established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge firmly believed in Oguntade’s guilt regarding the charges brought against him.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the EFCC confirmed that Oguntade was convicted of financial mismanagement and fraud during his tenure at JAMB. The court sentenced him to five years in prison without the possibility of a fine, highlighting the seriousness of his offenses.

As stated, the judge delivered the ruling on January 28th.

How the convict carried out the fraud

The commission accused the convict, an employee in JAMB’s Finance and Accounts Department, of forging a Local Purchase Order (LPO) and a Letter of Domiciliation to fraudulently secure N10 million from Polybadan Microfinance Bank.

The anti-corruption agency stated that Mr. Oguntade deceitfully secured the loan by falsely claiming he had been granted a contract from JAMB to provide internet services.

The prosecution claims that he handed the forged documents to his friend, K. Ola Al-Amin, who was a customer of the microfinance bank, so that Al-Amin could present them to the bank under his own name.

Misled by the convict, Mr. Al-Amin arranged the loan using forged documents and assisted Mr. Oguntade in transferring the funds to bank accounts of three different companies: Reeden Investment Limited, Danmarg Multiventures Company, and Enrich System Nigeria Limited.

The convict gave Mr. Al-Amin the bank account details of the companies, claiming that these amounts were payments for equipment and installations related to supposed internet services.

Investigations revealed that the convict had previously issued forged LPOs to these companies and defrauded Polybadan Microfinance Bank of N10 million in order to repay loans he also fraudulently secured from them.

The EFCC has brought charges against Mr. Oguntade, accusing him of three revised counts: forgery, advance fee fraud, and obtaining under false pretenses.

The indictment claimed that around 2010 in Ibadan, Mr. Oguntade fraudulently acquired N10 million by deception through Kola Al-Amin from Polybadan Microfinance Bank Ltd.

The allegation further stated that he forged a Letter of Purchase Order titled “Re: Supply of Internet Services,” which was claimed to have been issued by JAMB on 15 October 2010 with reference number JAMB/FIN/282/Vol.4/445, in order to process the loan.

The prosecution stated that he committed the crime of obtaining money under false pretenses, violating Section 1 (i) (b) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

He was also charged with forgery, in violation of Section 467 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.

He denied the charges.

The trial lasted approximately four years, during which prosecuting lawyers Oyelakin Oyediran and Lanre Suleiman presented 10 witnesses and several incriminating documents, all of which were admitted as evidence. They urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.