By Kemo Cham
A Nigerian Professor of Law accused of faking his academic record has been cleared by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), after about eight months of rigorous investigation.
Prof. Emmanuel Femi Gbenga Ajayi was detained in July 2019 by the ACC which said it was acting on a report from anonymous sources who accused him of faking his academic documents to acquire jobs in two Sierra Leone-based universities – University of Makeni and Njala University.
Prof. Ajayi was the head of the Law School at Njala when he was fingered by the ACC for allegations the Commission now said its findings have proven to be baseless.
ACC investigators visited and accessed documents from a total of six universities in Nigeria, where he attended, as well as the Supreme Court of Nigeria, to confirm the authenticity of his documents.
Ajayi was also accused of collecting funds from students to erect a building in the Njala University campus, among others.
He was cleared on all allegations.
“We have had the chance to undertake a thorough investigation into the report in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other places of interest,” the Commission said in a statement issued last week.
“Our investigation has established no evidence of falsification of certificates and identity; and no fraudulently or unlawfully acquiring public benefits or service,” the statement, signed by the Director of Intelligence and Investigation Department of the ACC, Evelyn S. Kuyateh, added.
Prof. Ajayi welcomed the development, but not without reservation. He told Politico that he felt his image and over a decade of academic achievement had been destroyed by the ACC due to the manner the anti-graft agency handled the investigation. He also feels betrayed by Njala University, whose administration he said had gang up against him as part of an effort to prevent him from achieving his plan of transforming the law school into a center of excellence.
“Njala wanted to kill me. Not just total destruction,” he said in an interview.
Prof. Ajayi, with a total of eight degrees and 13 professional qualifications, is a legal researcher, barrister at law, solicitor and consultant. As an academic, he has lectured in a number universities across the world, including as visiting professor. He notably served in Zambia, Gambia, Kenya and India.
Ajayi first came to Sierra Leone in 2017 and started his academic career in the country at the University of Makeni where he taught at the Law Department, before moving to Njala.
He said he moved to the southern university when they had just started the law programme there. He helped redraw the law school curriculum as head of the department.
According to the Nigerian Prof., his ordeal at Njala started when he decided to sanitatize the system which he felt had been compromised.
“This was how all my trouble started,” he said.
Prof. Ajayi blamed the administration of Njala University and an unnamed official for reporting him to the ACC.
He said not only did the administration made life difficult for him prior to his arrest, they also wrongfully terminated his contract after his detention.
A spokesman for the Njala University Administration rejected the claims of the Nigerian Prof. Dr Muneer Jalloh, Public Relations Officer of the university, said the institution had not received any official correspondent from the ACC about the outcome of the findings of its investigation, hence they couldn’t take any action on the fate of Prof. Ajayi. He however defended the decision to terminate his contract, citing the criminal nature of the investigation.
“Since it is criminal investigation, he was bound to be suspended with half salary,” Dr Jalloh said, adding that Prof. Ajayi’s contract wasn’t renewed because he didn’t request for that as policy required.
“He had two years contract and he was expected to ask for renewal two months before his contract ended. But he didn’t do that,” Jalloh explained in a telephone interview from Njala.
Jalloh also dismissed Prof. Ajayi’s claims that the administration was responsible for his ordeal. He said the Nigerian provoked the actions against him, himself, due to his “abnormal” behavior.
Prof. Ajayi told Politico that he’s considering taking legal action if he didn’t get an apology and full compensation for his experience in the hands of the university.
Prof. Ajayi is unhappy with the ACC because, according to him, after all the inhumane treatment it subjected him to, the Commission didn’t have the courtesy to apologize to him.
“The annoying and nauseating part of the ACC report is that there is no apology after 231 days of harrowing experiences,” he said.
“How would the world perceive Sierra Leone?” he wondered.
The ACC did not respond to a request by Politico for comment.
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