The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has announced that it has re-arraigned Professor David Iornem and two others before Hon. Justice P.O. Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on amended charges related to several offences, including certificate racketeering and money laundering.

The Acting Director of Public Enlightenment and Education/Spokesperson for the Commission, Demola Bakare, made this known on Wednesday in a statement issued to the press in Kano.

The statement reads: “The eleven-year-old case, which began in 2013, was restarted de novo due to the elevation of Hon. Justice A.R. Mohammed (JCA) to the Court of Appeal.”

He further stated that “At the hearing of the case recently, the prosecution counsel, David Nwaze, informed the court that the Commission was ready to proceed with the re-arraignment of the defendants and to begin the trial with two witnesses who were present in court.”

David Iornem pleaded not guilty to all twelve charges read to him, while the same plea was entered by Island Open University Inc. and Commonwealth University Inc., the 2ndand 3rddefendants, respectively, for counts thirteen and fourteen of the charges.

Count one of the amended charges reads: “That you, David Iornem (m), between 1stJanuary and 31stDecember 2012, and on various dates thereafter, by false pretenses and with intent to defraud, conspired with one Bruce Robert Duncan (m), and other persons at large, to obtain money for yourselves through an advertisement you published on the internet. The advertisement offered admission to anyone who applied to you as a Consultant/Academic Adviser for admission into Commonwealth University Belize, which you falsely represented to be a foreign university based in Belize, when you knew that the said Commonwealth University Belize is neither accredited nor authorized to operate as a university in Belize. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and Section 1(1)(a), punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”

Count thirteen reads: “That you, Island Open University Inc., between July and December 2012, and on various dates thereafter, retained the benefit of the sum of £11,000 (Eleven thousand British pounds) to acquire a two-bedroom flat atNo. 9 Offord Close, London, knowing the said sum to be derived from racketeering in the award of academic and honorary degrees by a fake and unaccredited ‘Commonwealth University Belize.’ You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17(a) and (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011.”

Upon an application by their counsel for bail on the same terms granted earlier before the former judge, Justice A.R. Mohammed (JCA), the court granted bail to the defendants but tightened the conditions. The bail bond was increased from one hundred thousand naira to twenty million naira, and the number of sureties was raised to two, with one surety required to be a civil servant not below level fourteen. All other conditions remained the same.

During the trial, prosecution counsel David Nwaze called the first witness, Mr. Chidi Orji, a staff member of the ICPC.

Mr. Orji testified that he was part of the team that investigated a petition submitted to the ICPC by the National Universities Commission (NUC). He emphasized that the petition came at a time when the NUC had partnered with the ICPC to clamp down on illegal degree-awarding universities and institutions in the country.

He further explained his role as an undercover agent, pretending to seek a degree for one of his superior’s wards under the pseudonym Jamilu Rabiu Sani. In the process, he paid the sum of $800 as an application fee and good faith fee to the 3rddefendant. He added that it was upon his return to convert the bank teller into the 3rddefendant’s receipt that the arrest of a staff member of the 3rddefendant was carried out in a sting operation planned by the investigation team.

During cross-examination, the defendants’ counsel, Felix Tyokase, attempted to question the source of the petition and argued that the 2ndand 3rddefendants were not among the illegal degree-awarding institutions listed by the NUC at that time.

In response, Mr. Orji emphasized that although he was unsure whether the 2ndand 3rddefendants were on the list, the ICPC could investigate any institution that received a complaint, even if it was not on the list. He also pointed out that the NUC is not omnipresent or omniscient and may not have knowledge of all illegal degree-awarding universities and institutions in Nigeria at all times.

The case has been adjourned until March 4, 2025, by Justice Lifu for the continuation of the trial. (Nigerian Tribune)