EFCC Set To Probe 120 Ogun Teachers

Michael Olukoya, President Nigerian Union of Teachers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has summoned one hundred and twenty public secondary school teachers in Ogun state. 

The teachers were summoned through the state’s Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and they were instructed to appear before the commission today July 6, 2015.

The proposed interrogation is the alleged over unpaid two hundred million naira loan taken from an undisclosed old generation bank by the teachers.

The Punch gathered that a chunk of the teachers who teach in secondary schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the state, had since 2011 allegedly taken loan worth N200m from the bank and has not been able to pay back.

Upon further clarifications however, the said teachers involved denied taking loan from the bank stating that moreover, most of them do not have account with the bank that they are being accused of taking loan from.

The teachers did not hesitate to embark on a peaceful protest on Friday last week on the matter, stressing that the invitation will not be honoured.

To this end, the head of service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle held a meeting with the teachers’ spokesman, Imam Noah Sodeinde, on the need for them to honour the EFCC invitation, despite claiming not having any hand in such loan.

A teacher said, “we suspect that a fraud has been perpetrated somewhere. Many of us don’t have accounts with the bank, yet they said we took loans and failed to repay.

“How can that be? Some of the affected teachers have retired while others are still in service. EFCC should beam its searchlight on the bankers.

“This issue has been on for some time. They (TESCOM) just sent text messages to invite us recently. They called others on the telephone. They said we are going to EFCC to respond to allegation that we took loans and did not repay. They said they will arrange a bus to carry us to EFCC.”

An anonymous source in TESCOM confirmed the invitation by the EFCC but he maintained that the commission (TESCOM) had no account with the bank.

Another source said, “the story of the N200m loan was still a mystery to many of us. We do not have any account with the bank.

“We have asked the teachers to go and honour the invitation of the EFCC just to clear their names. The state government has made available the buses that will convey them to Lagos and a legal team that will accompany them.”

It was gathered that the teachers had been grouped into six batches, with the first batch, comprising 20 teachers, billed to appear before the EFCC in Lagos today.