A human rights group, the Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria), has petitioned the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu for the dismissal of a lecturer at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Dr. Idris Isyaku Abdullahi, submitted.
In the petition signed by Olayele Gbenga Awujoola on behalf of the Executive Director of PIDI-Nigeria, the group said that it had received a complaint in June 2020 about the dismissal of the professor who was employed by the university in the accounting department until his dismissal and university finances.
According to the rights group, Dr. Abdullahi arbitrarily dismissed from university officials for exposing a harsh practice by the institution in awarding three different Bachelor of Technology degrees to a specific individual in the same discipline.
“Said whistle blower was dismissed by ATBU Bauchi on April 27, 2018 for alleged character defamation, smear campaign / false accusation against the university in an open letter to the president published in a 2017 national newspaper.
“The facts of its publication were based on the fact that the institution awarded three different bachelor’s degrees in the same discipline to a Mustapha Isah who still has a pending case of examination errors by the university.
“Indeed, publication became necessary after the whistleblower exhausted all internal mechanisms to ensure the university was doing the right thing,” the petition said.
PIDI-Nigeria alleged that Mustapha Isah had filed a lawsuit against Dr. Abdullahi, who was later dismissed by the court.
“You might be interested to know that said Mustapha Isah sued the whistleblower for disclosure, but the lawsuit was dismissed in favor of the whistleblower because said Mustapha was unable to bring his claim to court.”
The rights group complained about the spin-off from Dr. Abdullahi, who served at the university, added that as part of his investigation, ATBU management had not asked him to hear from him before taking any action against him.
She accused the university administration of having decided to sweep the issue of exam error under the carpet, which the petitioner said is an act that may sabotage President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on corruption.
According to the petition, ATBU management is sabotaging the war on exam errors, adding that the institution uses selective justice in dealing with students caught in the act.
The finding that the institution has endorsed and approved the awarding of three different bachelor’s degrees in the same discipline to the said Mustapha Isah is an open invitation that can promote crime and damage the image of the educational system of nations.
PIDI-Nigeria also noted in the petition that the alleged crimes for which Dr. Abdullahi was dismissed and was not included on the mandate of the committee investigating the matter.
It gave the institution’s management a seven-day ultimatum within which Dr. Abdullahi could be reassigned to a position commensurate with his colleagues who were on par with him or faced a legal battle before his release.
Note: We are not the author of this content. For the Authentic and complete version,
Check its Original Source
