While the pension fund deductions were repaid, the remaining amount was diverted to the personal coffers of the Commandant and his cronies, the sources said.
Some sources in the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State have alleged that members of staff at the top echelon of management fraudulently diverted N500 million under the pretext of a cooperative society.
The concerned cadets told SaharaReporters that trouble started when the Single Treasury Account was introduced by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
The Academy management, according to the cadets, fraudulently opened an account with Zenith Bank PLC, Wudil, Kano with the name POLAC Cooperative Staff Account and diverted over N500 million to the account, prior to the time the Single Treasury Account was effected.
Upon assuming office, the current Commandant AIG Ahmad Abdurrahman, allegedly connived with the academy’s bursar, Agata to move the funds, claiming that they wanted to make use of the money to pay staff members whose pension funds and allowances had been deducted.
While the pension fund deductions were repaid, the remaining amount was diverted to the personal coffers of the Commandant and his cronies, the sources said.
One of the sources said, “The Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano as the 37th Federal University in Nigeria is being used as a breeding ground for corruption by the past and present Commandants in collaboration with the academic wing of the academy.
“These huge sums of money have been diverted by the academy management team for their gains without embarking on any meaningful development in the academy even though facilities at the cadets’ hostels are overstretched, most especially the female hostels.
“At the cadets’ hostels, most especially the female ones, rooms are built with the capacity to accommodate in most cases 4 cadets using the bunk beds, but in reality, each room accommodates between 6 and 7 female cadets.
“Some put their foams on bare flow and some use the Matron's office where mattresses are folded during the day. Worse still, these 6-7 cadets share one toilet and bathroom.
"This explains why most cadets always show up late for activities because they have to queue up and take turns to bathe before going out.
“It's not an exaggeration to state that most of the female cadets that seek medical attention at the academy's clinic seek infection treatment.”
“It could be recalled that the commandant, AIG Ahmad announced during the matriculation and oath-taking ceremony in February 2022 in the presence of the cadets, guests, and the press that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) released N500 Million for the construction of the cadets' hostel, but, unfortunately, no structure has been erected since then.
“Further investigations also revealed that the same TETFund released the backlog of 2017, 2018, and 2019 intervention funds to the academy for infrastructural development but at the moment, only two projects (Animal House and Convocation Hall) are ongoing in the academy.
“In the same vein, the Minister of Police Affairs approved and the academy enforced a compulsory levy of N5,000 Cautionary Fee on over 3,000 cadets in the academy, and over N15 million was paid through a Zenith Bank Account: 1217970951 with the name: Polac Academy Cooperative Hostels Account when they resumed last year (2021) October.
“With all these monies on the ground and the cadets going through this agony in the academy, doubts are beginning to be cast as to whether they are being used for the purpose they are meant for.
“It is against this present challenge that we cadets are calling on the relevant monitoring and auditing bodies to swing into action toward ensuring our well-being which is at stake," another source said.
When SaharaReporters contacted Nafiu Habib, the institution's Public Relations Officer, he denied the claims, stating that the Commandant could not have been part of the financial fraud.
He said Ahmad has held leadership positions in the Force across the country and piloted the affairs of the institution properly.
He also said Ahmad was a cleric, noting that allegations of financial misconduct could not have come from people within the Academy.
Habib said it could have been written by any other person as there was a structure in place for communication from those in the lower cadet to their superiors.
He said, “The Nigeria Police Academy is a regimented institution governed by a hierarchy of officers. In such a regimented organisation, you cannot expect the connivance that some people are alleging happened.
“Such things don't happen in a regimented institution.
“Things are going on well in the academy, and the Commandant is happily moving the leadership of the institution smoothly.
“There can never be allegations from staff members of the institution. Staff cannot make allegations against their superiors in a regimented institution, they would rather channel it to a senior in rank.
“I can't believe that allegations from a police officer against his superior will go to the media. Not all allegations people make can be said to be true. Anyone can sit somewhere and write anything and send it to the press. That doesn't mean it is true.
“The commandant is a caring man, he is God-fearing, he is a cleric. He has held positions across the country and there are all good testimonies about him.”