‘N5.2bn fraud’: Ex-JAMB registrar, Dibu Ojerinde has a case to answer

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed the no-case submission filed by Dibu Ojerinde, the former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Ojerinde is facing trial on an 18-count charge relating to an alleged ₦5.2 billion fraud.

Ruling on the no-case submission, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that the prosecution, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), had presented sufficient evidence establishing elements of the alleged offence to warrant a defence by the defendant.

“The no-case submission fails and is dismissed,” the judge ruled.

He thereafter ordered Ojerinde to open his defence and adjourned proceedings to July 16.

The ICPC alleges that Ojerinde committed multiple fraudulent acts while serving as the head of both the National Examinations Council (NECO) and JAMB.

He was first arraigned in July 2021 on charges that included abuse of office and fraudulent diversion of public funds amounting to ₦5.2 billion.

Ojerinde has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

In its proof of evidence, submitted by prosecution counsel Ebenezer Shogunle, the ICPC further accused Ojerinde of repeatedly conferring corrupt advantages on himself during his tenure as Registrar and Chief Executive of both JAMB and NECO.

The alleged offences are said to contravene Sections 19, 24, and 25 (1)(a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, as well as Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006.

A plea bargain initiated by Ojerinde through his counsel, Ibrahim Ishyaku, in February 2022, was unsuccessful, and the trial proceeded.

The ICPC has since closed its case after calling several witnesses.

Despite this, Ojerinde filed a no-case submission, which the court has now rejected.