By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Nigerian Professor Emmanuel Femi Gbenga Ajayi has said that the Anti-Corruption Commission was used against him to hurt his reputation. Prof. Ajayi, who was investigated and later vindicated by the ACC on suspicion that he held fake degrees, was speaking at a press conference organized by the rights group, Native Consortium on Wednesday.
Ajayi who said he has forgiven the ACC for their “mistake”, noted that the commission could have handled the investigation better than they did.
“ACC behaved in my case as if they are the Alpha and Omega. The ACC was used and allowed itself to be used mercilessly against me. If you want to know anything about anyone in this world, the first place you go to is the internet. The publications I have done and my appointments are all on the internet,” he said.
Ajayi said he was treated by the ACC investigators like a “common criminal”.
“I couldn’t eat, sleep, or write. I almost committed suicide,” a very frustrated Prof. Ajayi explained to journalists.
Ajayi said he was accused by an “anonymous” source at Njala University of forging his academic credentials. The allegations led to his arrest, detention and investigation, which caused a stir in the academic community and even diplomatic circle.
After nine months of investigation, ACC finally released a statement in March this year, exonerating him.
Director of Public Education and Outreach Department at the ACC, Patrick Sandy, said the commission was just doing its work and don’t have any reason to apologize.
“We are not going to apologize because we did our job. We have a mandate to investigate suspected corruption cases and act on the findings. Corruption allegations can be proved or disproved based on the outcome of the investigation,” Sandy said.
Ajayi said this is a chapter he has closed and will move on. However, his future with Njala University is still in doubt.
The Nigerian prof. was the Head of Department for the newly established Law Department in the university prior to his ordeal at the hands of the ACC. He said part of the reason he was “targeted” was because he was trying “to prevent the corruption that [had] soaked the university not to permeate through to the law department.”
The Acting Vice Chancellor and Principal of the university, Professor Osman Sankoh, said at the press briefing held in the conference hall of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) headquarters that the university court would decide on whether he could return to his former post.
“He will have to reapply because he was on contract and his contract had expired. When he applies, we will consider the application and decide. I cannot make these determinations alone, there is a process that it must go through,” Prof. Sankoh said.
Ajayi said he couldn’t have possibly reapplied because he was under investigation.
On the issue of corruption, Sankoh said since he took over as the Vice Chancellor in April, he has been running the university with a mantra that includes instilling integrity in the institution.
Edmund Abu, Executive Director of Native Consortium and Research Center (NCRC), a group that has been campaigning for Ajayi to be cleared and reinstated, said they were happy this issue has been drawn to a close.
Abu said the press conference would also be taken to Bo where Ajayi resided to make sure that his name is properly cleared.
Ajayi has up to nine different degrees ranging from Masters in Business Administration, Masters in International Law, as well as qualifications in areas like Trade and Maritime.
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