May 29, 2010
The Vice Chancellor of Adamawa State University, Dr. Alkassum Abba posted a rejoinder faulting a story published by Saharareporters on How Modibbo and Wife Stole UBEC’s billions. The rejoinder could be split into three strands: First, he claimed that we falsely reported that “General Mamman Kontagora set-up a special panel to probe an avalanche of allegations that, 'certain lecturers were offering background admissions to otherwise ineligible but delectable ladies in exchange for sex."Secondly, he faulted our story depicting a certain Aishatu Hassan Mohammed as Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, the newly acquired second wife of his friend and Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Lastly, Abba also faulted our report that he, Modibbo and other members of the sex-for-admission syndicate were sacked and later approached prominent traditional rulers to intervene on their behalf.
Conveniently, Abba, while contesting the identity of his friend’s wife, Aishatu, failed to comment on such grave allegations as the billions of Naira she has reportedly siphoned from UBEC and National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) using her hydra-headed Binani Group.
Abba also refused to comment on the propriety or otherwise of a public officer appointing his wife the sole contractor in an organization he heads, and even awarding contracts to yet-to-be incorporated companies.
He failed, in the rejoinder, to comment on the submission of his faculty officer at the time, Mallam Lawal Bala Isa, and the forest of allegations the faculty officer levelled against him and Modibbo. Equally silent was Abba on Isa’s claim that the now phantom Aishatu “was the alleged girlfriend of Dr. A. M. Modibbo.” While we made specific references to documents submitted to authorities of ABU, Abba made general counter-claims, and failed to deploy any facts, figures or dates.
Abba was mum on allegations by Isa that the former abused his office as chairman of the screening committee, to clear students (sometimes on two occasions) who had forged certificates but, nonetheless found their ways into ABU. More strange was that not a single comment was made by Abba on Isa, the man whose submission obviously did the worst damage to his reputation as a “responsible family man, father and grand-father.”
Abba failed to cognizance the fact that it wasn’t impossible for the Late General Abacha to, on the basis of pleas from traditional rulers on the eve of his transmutation project, direct General Kontangora (who in any case was appointed by him) to hold on to the recommendations of the Gimba-led disciplinary committee on the school even though it has been proven that Abacha did unthinkable things during his reign including appointing a retired army general to run a university!
The drama began when Modibbo, as dean of the faculty of arts and social sciences, unilaterally set up a screening committee headed by, of course, Dr. Abba Alkassum, which had as members such other members of the syndicate as Mamman Adamu, Sani Usman, Abubakar Sarki and Musa Kano. Funnily, the faculty officer Lawal Isa did not know of the committee until he was summoned to appear before it.
Shortly after Modibbo’s “kangaroo committee” began sitting, students’ academic files began to disappear, prompting a worried faculty to set up another committee dubbed “Committee On Alleged Alteration Of Academic Records Of Students.” The faculty officer appeared before this committee spilling the beans.
Following an avalanche of indicting testimonies from academic and non-academic staff on the activities of Dr. Modibbo’s syndicate, the faculty committee passed its findings to the Abubakar Gimba-led disciplinary committee cited by Alkassum Abba in his rejoinder. While Abba vainly tried to mix up the issues, it is clear that it was the Gimba committee which was directly appointed by the then Sole Administrator, General Kontagora that recommended the dismissal of Modibbo and members of his syndicate.
Alkassum, in his rejoinder, claimed his committee ordered the withdrawal of Aishatu; a lady he swears isn’t Modibbo’s current wife. The poser is how Alkassum could have kept a tab on this Aishatu woman since 1996 to now know she is not the same Aishatu that married his bosom friend Modibbo?
As chairman of the faculty-screening panel, Alkassum cannot deny handling the case of “Amaukwu Chizoba” whose real name in the WAEC master list turned out to be Aronu Chinwe Maureen. Besides, if the Aishatu whom he falsely claimed his committee dismissed, could forge results with such ease to browbeat ABU authorities, what, in Alkassum’s estimation, could stop this serial forger from changing her name from Aishatu Hassan Mohammed to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed and back to Aishatu Ibrahim Ahmed?
Even at that, Abba, in his rejoinder, said of the controversial Aishatu: “The student was withdrawn by the Screening Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) under my chairmanship because she was admitted into the University with a polytechnic qualification to read History.” It is instructive to note that Abba was silent on the nature or form of the “polytechnic qualification” and who might have been responsible for such misjudgment even as he earlier claimed in his rejoinder that In any case, “lecturers in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as lecturers do not get involved in admission of students. This is done at the level of the Department, Faculty and Central Admissions Committee.”
However, putting a lie to Abba’s claim, his faculty officer at the time, in a documented testimony held that on two occasions the same Aishatu appeared before the Abba screening committee and the committee had on both occasions approved her admission. He expressed surprise that Abba could muster the guts to, for the third time, request for the file to, in his words, “Confirm her status.”
In a statement of facts submitted to the committee, faculty officer wrote this: “The chairman of the screening committee Mallam A. Abba requested for the file (Aishatu’s) on Friday, 28th February, 1997 to confirm her status, and I informed him that the file will be released only after the investigations (evidence attached),” wrote the faculty officer.
“It is indeed curious to note that Mallam Abba, the chairman of the screening committee, will only now want to confirm the status of a student in his department (and) which his screening committee cleared twice.”
“The Head of Department, Dr. A. M. Modibbo, who incidentally was the dean,” continued Isa, “should not claim ignorance of this irregularity and fraud. It is curious to note that the student (Aishatu) was not on any list during the first screening exercise as advertised.”
Apart from the fact that it took Abba over two weeks to put up a rejoinder on an issue he claimed affected him as a “responsible family man, father and grand-father,” the curiosity is heightened by his decision to seek to address only the issue of Aishatu, Modibbo’s mistress-turned wife, but left us guessing if his committee was also responsible for the expulsion of the 16 other hapless girls members of his ring had exploited sexually in exchange for an admission exercise that crumbled in the face of faculty scrutiny.
While we thank Dr. Abba for pointing out our error in referring to Dr. Aminu Ladan as a “lecturer” and not as a “registry staff," the fact remains that Ladan was a bona fide staff of ABU, and was fingered in the sex-for-admission scam. Abba also failed to cite any incident or document by his committee, the faculty committee or the Gimba-led disciplinary committee suggesting otherwise. He inadvertently helped to establish that Ladan not only was the missing link in how the fake students got admitted into ABU in the first place, but the mole in the faculty office responsible for the ‘disappearances’ of students’ academic records.
He failed to point out in his rejoinder why no fake male students were detected. All were beautiful ladies who were screened and re-screened by his committee and yet handed a clean bill of health.
A well-oiled sex-for-admission ring headed by the dean, faculty of arts and social sciences, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed, current Executive Secretary, and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) predated General Mamman Kontagora’s appointment as Sole Administrator, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Second in command in the ring was Dr. Alkassum Abba, a lecturer in the department of history and current Vice Chancellor, Adamawa State University, Mubi.
The present Director, National Teachers Institute, Kaduna, Dr. Aminu Ladan was a very active member of the ring, much the same way as Messrs. Mamman Adamu, Sani Usman, Abubakar Sarki and Musa Kano, lecturers in the faculty. Musa Kano is now reportedly deceased.
Prior to General Mamman Kontagora’s appointment as Sole Administrator by the Late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Modibbo’s faculty of arts and social sciences had been awash with rumours and complaints of students’ files disappearing and re-appearing at will. Curiously, files that were mysteriously in the habit of growing wings were only those of female students ‘studying’ history. Modibbo had been head of history department before his elevation as dean.
The faculty officer at the time Mr. S. M. Onwuaroh had on several occasions clashed with Abba over his refusal to hand over students’ files to messengers purportedly sent by Abba. However, the faculty officer was chagrined to observe that Modibbo was always eager to side with Abba each time they clashed over the matter. Unknown to him, he was squared up against a very organized syndicate.
By February 1996, Mr. S. M. Onwuaroh, was leaving office a sad man. As the supposed head of administration of the faculty, was frustrated over the realization that Modibbo had completely usurped his functions as faculty officer, making it impossible to authenticate students’ academic records.
So exasperated was the faculty officer that he couldn’t help sharing his bitter experience with his successor. In handover notes to his successor Lawal Bala Isa dated 23rd February 1996, Onwuaroh lamented: “Normally it is the duty of the faculty officer to take absolute control of all administrative matters and assign committees to his subordinates in the administration. My experience is that it is not so in FASS for reason (sic) beyond my comprehension.”
He further lamented “administrative instructions were being issued left, right and centre to various officers in the faculty at one time or the other without regard to the need to centralize and coordinate such directives through the faculty officer.” Perhaps sensing that he lost the battle to sanitize academic records of the faculty, Onwuaroh challenged his successor: “You have a duty to redress the situation.”
However, much as the new faculty officer tried, students’ academic records in the faculty of arts and social sciences continued to develop wings. Files would get “missing” for days on end and then re-surface leaving Isa wondering if he wasn’t in a situation room swarming with magical files.
Before Isa, Abba, in concert with Modibbo was fond of dispatching messengers with verbal instructions to Onwuaroh, to fetch students’ files. On one of the occasions, he sent for files of six of the 17 students strongly suspected of having gained fake admissions into ABU. When Onwuaroh protested to Modibbo, the dean asked him to “co-operate with Abba”. Very reluctantly, the hapless faculty officer complied. The files were never returned.
Having, in his estimation, succeeded in destroying every shred of evidence to nail their six sex slaves, Abba deployed the same method to collect the remaining 11 files from Isa who had just assumed office. Expectedly, the files, like the ones before, never returned to the school.
When the noise generated by ‘missing’ files grew louder, Modibbo responded by advising Alkassum Abba, who in any case was the lieutenant kingpin in the sex-for-admissions ring, to raise the alarm that student files in the faculty office were missing. A few days later, precisely on 30th January 1997 Abba penned a memo to Modibbo, suggesting that a committee be set up to investigate the strange phenomenon.
For inexplicable reasons, Modibbo penned a memo to Kontagora expressing concern that his faculty was dogged with complaints that files containing students’ academic records were disappearing. He sought the Sole Administrator’s approval to set up a “high-powered committee” to unravel the mystery. Kontagora obliged.
Modibbo thereafter constituted a panel headed, of course, by his lieutenant in the sex-for-admissions ring, Abba. This expectedly was without the knowledge of the faculty officer, the head of administration of the faculty. To play safe, Modibbo appointed four other members of his sex ring, Mamman Adamu, Sani Usman, Abubakar Sarki and the Late Musa Kano, to “assist” the Abba panel.
On February 20th, 1997, a triumphant Modibbo, in a terse memo to his faculty officer, announced: “I have received the approval of the SA (General Mamman Kontagora) to investigate into this and I have constituted a committee in the FAC and they will get in touch with you. Please prepare submission.”
Exactly four days after Modibbo’s ordered Lawal Isa to “prepare submission,” the Abba-led kangaroo committee summoned the faculty officer. Unknown to Modibbo and Abba, the summons on Isa would turned out to be their waterloo.
When a well-prepared Isa appeared before the Abba committee, he literarily opened a can of worms. He accused Modibbo of setting up an investigative panel on the faculty without informing him, the faculty officer. He submitted that it was immoral for Modibbo and Abba to accuse him of altering students’ academic records when the files were actually in their custody.
He fumed: “I wonder why Mallam Abba should constitute himself into the faculty committee and feel along with the Dean (Modibbo) that the faculty office should not be intimated timely with material evidence of any irregularity?
“What is the basis of this mistrust and secrecy? What is the basis of accusing the faculty office of alteration of academic records of students when these files are largely in the custody of the persons (Modibbo and Abba) making the allegations?” queried Lawal, who currently is director of Administration, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Benin City?
The faculty officer stated that he was at a loss as to why “the former Dean, Dr. A. M. Mohammed and Mallam Abba connived to challenge the faculty officer initially on his documented insistence on 4th April, 1996 for ‘proper custody, movement and security of files…then turn around hypocritically to claim that the files not in the custody of the faculty office were tampered (with) by faculty office staff?”
Not satisfied with his submission, Isa on 5th March 1997, followed up with another addressed to “Members, committee on alleged alteration of academic records of students."
In his updated testimony, Isa affirmed: “These findings on appendix (x) earlier submitted are forwarded for urgent attention. All screening officers should be interviewed. Members of the faculty should be given opportunity to make contributions on this important subject please.”
In this follow-up, Isa commented on Aishatu Hassan Mohammed, whom we have confirmed is the same Aishatu Dahiru, Modibbo’s wife since February 13, 2010, and CEO of Binani Group, the sole contractor to UBEC. Aishatu had indeed appeared before a screening committee set up by her present husband, Modibbo. Expectedly, on the two occasions she appeared before the panel, which, in any case, was headed by Abba, the committee quite unsurprisingly gave her a clean bill of health.
“The chairman of the screening committee Mallam A. Abba requested for the file (Aishatu’s) on Friday, 28th February, 1997 to confirm her status, and I informed him that the file will be released only after the investigations (evidence attached),” wrote the faculty officer.
“It is indeed curious to note that Mallam Abba, the chairman of the screening committee, will only now want to confirm the status of a student in his department (and) which his screening committee cleared twice.
“The Head of Department, Dr. A. M. Modibbo, who incidentally was the dean,” continued Isa, “should not claim ignorance of this irregularity and fraud. It is curious to note that the student (Aishatu) was not on any list during the first screening exercise as advertised.”
The exasperated faculty initially wondered: “Could this possibly be an oversight?” however concluding, “The coincidences are too strong and the pointers to deliberate omission is obvious.”
The faculty officer, had earlier in his submission, described Aishatu as “the alleged girlfriend of Dr. A. M. Mohammed (see appendix x),” whom he said had “two statements of results from Kaduna State Polytechnic” which he maintained “are suspect.”
Observed Isa: “The first statement (Aishatu’s) of result says she attended the school (Kaduna Polytechnic) from 1991-1993 (two years) and obtained a PASS diploma in Public Administration on 4th May 1994.
“The second statement,” continued the faculty officer, “gives that she completed a certificate course in marketing with lower credit (less than a diploma) issued on 16th July 1992,” with the poser: “Was she reading the certificate and diploma course (s) at the same time in the same institution?” He returned: “No.”
Further on Modibbo’s wife, the faculty officer stated: “She fraudulently stated in MIS form-01 that she has B2 in Grade II when the cited result with Exam. No. 003/0123 in May/June 1990 indicated that the result was pending. "
“She (Aishatu) was not qualified going by her qualifications in the result submitted (i.e., 003/0123 of May/June 1990) for admission to the university history programme. No student with diploma in Public Administration (Pass) should have been admitted to read history,” Isa submitted.
Not done, the faculty officer wondered aloud how Aishatu’s incredulous certificates earned her a place in Modibbo’s history class? What is more, the admission was through “special admission/transfer for 1993/94?”
Fumed Isa: “How could this be possible? From which university is (sic) she transferring to ABU? Certainly she was not in any university so the mode of admission is irregular and fraudulent. This is a clear case of withdrawal and those responsible for her admission and irregular screening should be investigated.”
Away from Aishatu, the faculty officer moved on to a certain Abdulrazaq Jummai, with Matric. Number U93HS1035, whom he explained was withdrawn from ABU because “she has no JAMB score, JAMB number, not in ABU master list” and failed to give the date of her “O” Level result.
More revealing, said, Isa, was that Jummai was admitted to read history, when she didn’t even sit for history at the school certificate level.
“She has an F.9 in Government and did not even sit for history which she is currently reading,” testified the faculty officer, lamenting that those obvious deficiencies were overlooked by the Abba-led committee that cleared Jummai “as shown by Abubakar Sarki’s signature on her MIS form 05.”
Isa revealed in his submission that, “On closer examination of her (Jummai’s) credentials, the following emerged: The JAMB registration number on the admission letter was 201802EJ, which was superimposed on the examination result list (typed in with the typewriter with a different character to the computer printout),” stressing, “This is a clear case of fraud which was covered by the (Abba’s) screening committee thereby misleading the faculty and the university.” On Jummai, the faculty officer gave this parting shot: “She is also alleged to be close to Dr. A. M. Modibbo, the former Dean of faculty of arts and social sciences.”
Of another withdrawn student whose relationship with Modibbo and Abba was described as “warm,” Daku Fatima, with Matric. Number U92AY2008, the faculty officer said: “She altered her 1985 'O' Level F 9 in English to C5; 1988 diploma (Library Science) Pass, transferred in 1992 from B.Ed.
Sociology to B.Sc. Sociology with CGPA of 1.86; then to 300 Level, BA,” noted Isa, concluding, “notwithstanding 3 (a) above, was cleared by Musa Kano a lecturer/screening officer to read 400 Level history.”
On Raji Bilikisu, with Matric. Number U92EC1170, the faculty officer submitted: “The permanent home address of this student is No. 10 Plateau Close, Area A, ABU Zaria, where Dr. A. M. Mohammed resides. And her contact address is c/o Mrs. S. A. Modibbo, UBA Plc, Zaria Branch, Kaduna State.”
He revealed that Miss Bilikisu “altered 94 Math F to C; admitted with 1 Credit into SGRS (Econs. C5), ‘O’ Level Maths F 9 to read Econs., SGRS Maths P, 94 IJMB not applicable. Dr. A. M. Mohammed and one of the screening officers removed the original registration form 1992/93 in the file and instead a photocopy was inserted to cover up the alterations.
“The (Bilikisu’s) form should have been signed by Mallam Yau Ahmed or Barrister Sule for the Dean in 1992/93 and not Mallam Mamman Adamu a current screening officer. This is fraudulent,” he submitted.
The faculty officer also observed that, “This candidate was cleared by Mallam Adamu, a lecturer and screening officer suggestively with the knowledge of the chairman of the screening committee, Mallam A. Abba and the dean of FASS, Dr. A. M. Mohammed."“
“The original form must be produced by Mallam A. Abba, who is custody of the file,” advised the faculty. As at the time of filing this report, ABU authorities were still waiting for Abba, the current Vice Chancellor, Adamawa State University, to return the file.
In the case of Amaukwu Chizoba, Matric. Number U92EC1277, Isa had this to say: “Withdrawn for suspected case of fraud. A different name, Aronu Chinwe Maureen found in 1992 WAEC master list (with same number/with different result JAMB score."
“Her fraudulent result was removed in the file earlier collected by Mallam A. Abba on 2nd May 1996 (Appendix 2c) and Appendix 3 item 40. Mallam was with this file for 7 months, returned on 4th November 1996 and collected it again on 6th November 1996 (i.e., after two days),” the faculty officer revealed.
When Abba returned the file, further revealed Isa, “A new result (not the fraudulent 1992) but 1994 and 1989 “O” Level was introduced. The signatures of all the registration officers at the department and faculty were clearly forged. All the forms were photocopied, the originals were absent.”
He told the committee that, “It is instructive to note that Mallam A. Abba, the chairman of the screening committee, did not include these fraudulent cases (of alteration and forgery) in the list of 17 cases of alleged alteration misdirected at the faculty officer.
“With these cases of impropriety involving screening officers superintended by its chairman, Mallam A. Abba, I am confident to assert that all the 17 cases of alleged alterations being investigated are better explained by Mallam A. Abba,” the faculty officer submitted.
He gave proof of efforts he made to ensure strict compliance with records keeping and security of files and challenged Abba to produce “documentary evidence” that he was ever committed to proper custody and security of files. He even accused Abba of frustrating every move of his to keep proper record of files.
He said: “I have submitted documentary evidence on how Mallam A. Abba resisted my insistence that screening officers should sign for files before collection on 4th April 1996, to ensure proper custody movement and security of such files (see Appendices Y1-Y3)”.
In what appeared an open challenge to Abba, the faculty officer charged: “What documentary evidence does Mallam A. Abba posses to show that he is committed to proper custody or security of files which he prefers to collect without records?
I, therefore, feel able to request you to interview exhaustively the former dean, Dr. A. M. Mohammed and Mallam A. Abba on these points in the interest of fairness and equity. These irregularities by members of the screening committee clearly covered by Mallam A. Abba should be determined and appropriate action taken.”
Having extensively covered the events and issues, the faculty officer concluded: “It is therefore absolutely necessary to probe these officers (Modibbo, Abba et al. for the offence(s) listed herein. Their activities suggest deliberate sabotage on our collective effort to sanitize the system and make ABU truly great.”
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