A former Bursar of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, Elijah Oladapo, has been sentenced to prison for fraud by the Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The former Bursar was first arraigned before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in 2021 alongside the former Rector of the same polytechnic, Theresa Taiwo Akande, for allegedly receiving over N500,000 as kickbacks from a contractor handling construction projects in the institution.
The ICPC, in a 9-count charge filed before the court, said their actions contravened Sections 8(1) (a), 19 and 20 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The accused persons had pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, leading to their trial.
Ex-ABU VC, Bursar arraigned for N1bn fraud
During the trial, the court heard how the convict, in 2015, abused his office by demanding and receiving kickbacks from a contractor handling the construction and furnishing of lecture theatres and offices in the polytechnic.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice A. L. Ogunmoye, discharged and acquitted the 1st defendant, Akande, of counts one to three.
The judge, however, found Oladapo guilty of the charges levelled against him in counts four to nine.
Justice Ogunmoye, therefore, sentenced the former Bursar to five years imprisonment for counts four to seven with an option of fine of N1.2 million while he also sentenced him to two years imprisonment on counts eight to nine without an option of fine.
The ICPC, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, added that the convict has since been sent to the correctional centre to serve his time.
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