THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has re-arraigned David Iornem, a professor, and two firms on amended charges involving certificate racketeering and money laundering.

Iornem is alleged to have scammed many Nigerians by offering fake admissions and certificates through two purported universities, Island Open University Inc. and Commonwealth University Inc., which are also defendants in the case.

The trial, which initially commenced in 2013, was restarted after the judge handling the case, A.R. Mohammed, was promoted to the Court of Appeal.

The case was subsequently transferred to P.O. Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, announced on Wednesday, November 27, that the commission was ready to proceed with the re-arraignment and trial of Iornem, as stated by prosecution counsel, David Nwaze, during a recent hearing.

Two witnesses were present and ready to testify. Iornem pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts against him and also entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of the second and third defendants for counts 13 and 14.

The amended charges against Iornem included count one, which alleged that between January 1 and December 31, 2012, and on various dates thereafter, he conspired with one Bruce Robert Duncan and others to defraud people by advertising false admission opportunities to Commonwealth University Belize on the internet, falsely representing it as a foreign university in Belize, when in fact it was not accredited or authorised to operate as a university, thereby committing an offence under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, specifically Sections 8(a) and 1(1)(a), and punishable under Section 1(3).

According to Bakare, the defence counsel requested bail for the defendants under the same conditions as before, but the court instead granted bail with more stringent terms.

“The bail bond was raised from ₦100,000 to ₦20 million, and the number of sureties increased to two. Additionally, one of the sureties must be a civil servant not below Level 14, while all other original conditions remained unchanged,” the statement added.

Bakare added that in the course of the trial, the prosecution counsel called the first witness, Chidi Orji, a staff member with the ICPC.

He said Orji, in his testimony, informed the court that he was part of the team that investigated the petition written to the commission by the National Universities Commission.

“He emphasised that the petition came at a time when the NUC partnered with the ICPC to clamp down on illegal degree-awarding universities and institutions in the country.

According to Bakare, Orji’s testimony revealed that he had acted as an undercover agent, pretending to seek a degree for a superior’s ward under the fake name Jamilu Rabiu Sani and had paid $800 to the third defendant as an application fee and good faith fee.

The matter has been adjourned till March 4, 2025, for continuation of the trial.

Bankole ABE

Reporter at ICIR | abankole@icirnigeria.org | Author Page

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