The Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA Global Resource Initiative) has appealed to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), to expedite action on their independent investigations on the alleged case of corrupt practices concerning accreditation of Lagos State University Of Science And Technology (LASUSTECH) departments.

In a petition addressed to the EFCC, signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Buna Olaitan Isiak, HURMA, said the petition was made available under the Whistle-blowing Policy of the Federal Government, which is an anti-corruption programme that encourages people to voluntarily disclose information about fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, government assets, and any other form of corruption or theft to the Nigeria’s Law Enforcements Agency.

He said: “It is on the above strength that we are involving the office of the EFCC to investigate the allegation of a mammoth fraud allegedly perpetrated by the extant Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Professor Olumuyiwa Odusanya in connivance with the Procurement Officer and the Auditor of the University in the embezzlement of the sum of N2b being awarded by the Lagos State Government for the accreditation of some of the Institution’s department without following the Lagos State Public Procurement Law 2021.

“According to earlier petitioner in a document available to our office, prior to the release of the sum of N2b by the Lagos State Government for the accreditation of some of the Institution’s department in September 2024, the Vice Chancellor was expected to liaise with the Procurement Department of the University in a bid to ensure that the accreditation process complies with the Public Procurement Agency in the award of contracts.

“However, the Vice Chancellor in a clandestine arrangement and in collusion with the Procurement Officer and Auditor shelved all the laid down procedure in the award of contracts as provided by the Lagos State Public Procurement Law 2021 and hurriedly resorted to the use of Direct Award of Contract to Contractors who were personally nominated by himself (Professor Olumuyiwa Odusanya) to carry out phantom contracts.”

Isiak said it is abysmally alarming to state that the Vice Chancellor, the Procurement Office and their cohorts in the University with the intention of receiving humongous part of the payments as kickbacks over-bloated some of the various contracts awarded in favour of the companies with a view of receiving the excess sums of money as fraudulent reward.

“For instance, a contract that was originally slated to be awarded at the rate of N20m in value was later prodigiously increased to the sum of N50m with the connivance of other officers of the University for their personal and corrupt enrichment. This act of criminal brigandage had led to the looting of the sum of N800m from the coffers of the University….”