President Buhari’s anti-corruption adviser enmeshed in exam malpractices scandal

– President Muhammadu Buhari is known for his commitment to fighting corruption

– The president had since set up a presidential advisory committee against corruption

– One of the committee members is battling to save her face in a scandal that might cost her job

A report by Premium Times has detailed how a member of the President Buhari’s Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Benedicta Daudu has gotten herself into a mess.

Daudu, an associate professor of law and head of the department of Jurisprudence and International Law of the Faculty of Law in the University of Nigeria, Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau state was allegedly caught cheating while writing an examination for a master’s degree in research and public policy in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the same university.

Daudu is said to already hold a master’s degree in law, but had been working towards obtaining another masters degree in research and public policy.

She was accused of sneaking in prepared answers, during the examination for the global context in public policy course. The matter was subsequently reported to the university’s examination committee but some students and faculty allege there were attempts at cover ups by the university authorities.

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Reacting to the issue, the Dean, Faculty of Social Science of the University, Professor Ezekiel Best, said it was not true that authorities were trying to cover up the matter.

He said: “I was not even around when the incident happened, so I don’t have all the details at this time. But there is nothing like that that we are doing nothing about it.”

Meanwhile, the coordinator of the research and public policy programme, Professor Bonaventure Haruna, said he reported the matter to Professor Best.

“I report to the Dean, I don’t report to any other person. So call the Dean of Social Science and ask him. He takes the next action,” he said.

When contacted,  Daudu, hung up the phone after questions on the incident was posed to her  repeatedly. She refused to pick subsequent calls and ignored a text message sent to her.

On his part, the public relations officer of the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi, said the matter had not been officially brought to the attention of the school’s management.

“I tried to confirm whether there was anything like that, really I couldn’t get any confirmation. It has not been brought to the attention of management. So right now I wouldn’t know.

“Although the university has internal processes that deals with these issues, even if there was anything like that, which I doubt much, it would have to go through the normal internal processes from the department to the faculty and then to the exam misconduct committee. It is at that stage it would be brought to the appropriate authority for sanction,” Abdullahi said.

The executive secretary of the presidential advisory committee, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye said he would inform members of the committee of the development immediately.

The committee is headed by prominent law professor and civil rights campaigner, Itse Sagay, and made up of mainly university professors.

The mandate of the committee includes advising the president on the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign and criminal justice system.

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In another development, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has given reasons for the continued detention of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

The EFCC says they have a valid remand warrant which they are enforcing. Fani-Kayode has been in the EFCC custody since Monday, May 9, 2016.

The post President Buhari’s anti-corruption adviser enmeshed in exam malpractices scandal appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM (Nigerian newspapers).