By Josephine Ella-Ejeh
Two teachers at a private primary school in Lekki, Lagos State, Divina Oluwadere and Elizabeth Tijani, have been arrested by the police for allegedly diverting the school’s cooperative funds and fees paid by pupils, for their personal use.
Also, another official of the school, Ijaola Adesola, was arrested in connection with the alleged crime.
It was gathered that aside teaching, Oluwadare and Tijani performed administrative roles in the school which gave them access to the school funds.
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While Oluwadare reportedly diverted the sum of N182,000, Tijani and Adesola allegedly took N583,000 and N492,000 respectively.
It was further learnt following the discovery of the fraud, the suspects were sacked and handed over to the police which compelled them to write undertakings to return the money, but they reneged on their promise in the course of the repayment.
Oluwadare, a native of the Abi Local Government Area, Cross River State, told the police that a sum of N257,000 was traced to her, but she had paid back N95,000.
“I worked with Jolabell International School. During my service there, the sum of N257,000 was found missing after thorough auditing. The police were involved and I have remitted the sum of N95,000. I would have finished the payment but for the injury I sustained in the leg,” she said.
For Tijani, she claimed that sometimes in October 2017, she was going to deposit the money after closing from work when she was robbed in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state.
The indigene of Lagos Island said she did not report the incident to the police on time as a result of shock.
“I had been teaching for years, but I am not working now due to my health condition. Sometime last year, I was on my way to my boss’ office where I was supposed to deposit the weekly funds made by the school when I was robbed around Iyana Ipaja.
“The only person I could remember at that moment was my husband and I called him. After some days, I called my boss and told him what happened, but he said he wanted his money. I stopped going to work. I have paid a little out of the money,” she told the police.
On her part, Adesola said she took N450,000, not N492,000, from the school’s coffers and that she had returned N250,000 from the sum.
“I just got another job and I have promised to pay the balance soon,” she added.
The suspects had been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court on three counts of stealing by a police prosecutor, Inspector Ben Emuerhi.
Emuerhi told the court that the offence contravenes Sections 280(2)of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.
The charges read in part, “That you, Divina Oluwadare, sometime in April 2017 at Jolabell International School, Lekki, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial Distirct, did steal the sum of N182,000, proceeds realised from the school fees.
“That you, Elizabeth Tijani, sometime in November 2017, did steal the sum of N583,000, proceeds realised from school fees, property of Jolabell International School and Empowerment Cooperative and Multipurpose Society.”
“That you, Ijaola Adesola, sometime in 2017 did steal the sum of N492,000 proceeds realised from school fees, property of Jolabell International School and Empowerment Cooperative and Multipurpose Society.”
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the counts and elected summary trial.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs. O. Sule-Amzat, granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two sureties each in the like sum and adjourned till November 12, 2018 for mention.
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