Nigeria’s Anti-Graft Body Begins Prosecution of Govt. Official Who Claimed Snake Swallowed $100,000

They say wonders shall never cease. Like a script from a sit-com, a Nigerian government official in a state-owned examinations body has told officials of the country’s anti-graft body and the courts that the money totaling over $100,000 (36 Million Naira) which went missing from the vaults of the examinations body was swallowed by a mysterious snake.

The Nigerian anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will begin legal proceedings against the accused and this is a welcome development to citizens across the country. They have been quiet on the case since it first broke out last year.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had said in a statement that the accused, Philomina Chieshe, who is the accounts clerk of the country’s Joints Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and five others have been found complicit over the issue hence their arraignment before a High Court judge in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The anti-graft body confirmed that Philomina Chieshe claimed in a statement provided to them in February 2018 that a snake had “spiritually” made away with 36 million Naira cash ($100,000 plus).

The missing funds were part of the money made by the state-owned examinations body from student registration for the yearly nationwide matriculation examinations.

The Joints Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a state agency responsible for the registration of admissions for people seeking to enter the various Universities, Polytechnics and College of Education (both Government and privately owned) in the country.

Admission into higher institutions in Nigeria is not possible without passing the Joints Admissions and Matriculation Board examinations.

The Joints Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has since suspended the clerk and vowed to unravel the mystery.

The incident took place at the JAMB offices in Makurdi, capital of Benue State where the clerk in answering audit queries said her housemaid and a fellow employee had confessed to ‘spiritually’ stealing the monies she kept in an office vault.

Auditors from the capital Abuja had been sent to take inventory of funds accrued over the sale of scratch cards to students hoping to gain access to JAMB’s website to register or check on the status of their admissions. The audit came up after reforms by the current registrar struck out the use of the cards.

What are your thoughts, do you smell a rat?

Header Image Credit: The Guardian Nigeria