EXCLUSIVE: ICPC charges TETFund contractors with diverting N2.2 billion student training funds

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has charged two Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contractors and their companies with money laundering, accusing them of fraudulent diversion of funds meant for execution of multi-billion-naira training contracts awarded by the agency.

In separate cases filed in September last year at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the ICPC accused the individuals and their companies of failing to deliver on the contracts and diverting funds meant for their execution, court documents newly obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show.

The contractors are Paul Chukwuma, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Fides Et Ratio Academy Ltd and Adedeji Ladipo, the Managing Director and the CEO of Pole Global Marketing Limited.

ICPC accused them of concealing the origin of the funds, withdrawing parts of the money and converting some of it to foreign currencies, in a money laundering scheme that allegedly robbed TEFTFund of over N1.6 billion.

In the indictment seen by the newspaper, the ICPC said the defendants’ actions violated the provisions of section 18 of the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act (2022).

While Mr Chukwuma of Fides Et Ratio is charged with nine counts, Mr Ladipo is charged with four.

TETFund, an intervention agency for Nigerian tertiary institutions, statutorily receives three per cent of company income tax in Nigeria to fund infrastructure and training of staff in the institutions. It is the major funder of capital projects in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

A PREMIUM TIMES investigation had revealed how TETFund deducted the funds for training from the tertiary institutions’ 2023 annual disbursement against the wishes of the beneficiary institutions.

The report revealed that though Fides Et Ratio Academy was paid N2.9 billion out of the N3.8 in four installments between June and November 2023, there was no evidence that the training had been conducted as of April 2024.

After PREMIUM TIMES story in April, the ICPC interrogated senior officials of the Fund, including the Director of Finance and Accounts, Gloria Olotu; the Director of Human Resources and General Administration at TETFUND, Kolapo Okunola, and the agency’s Director of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Joseph Odo.

The ICPC also interrogated Mr Chukwuma two months later in June.

Charges against Chukwuma of Fides Et Ratio

In the first to sixth charges filed on 11 September 2024 against Mr Chukwuma, the ICPC accused him of diverting over N69 million meant for the training of students from various tertiary institutions.

The intended beneficiaries of the training that ICPC alleged never took place were:

7,042 students from the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State
7,042 students from the Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State
6,329 students from the Federal Polytechnic, Bali, Taraba State
6,329 students from the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, Sokoto State
6,329 students from Ignatius Agwu University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State
6,329 students from Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, Imo State

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In the seventh to ninth charges, the ICPC accused him of using the funds for the training to purchase a N300 million Mercedes Benz GLS 600 Maybach and converted over N139 million to US dollars.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct wrongly stated amounts involved in the charges.