A senior lecturer of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has landed in
trouble for extorting N100, 000 from a female student . The lecturer
(name withheld), who is in the Faculty of Law was arrested by the
university’s security personnel and handed over to the police after he
allegedly collected the marked money from the student to change her
course of study from English Language to Law.
It was learnt that the arrest of the lecturer had led to the busting
of a syndicate that specialized in extorting money from students in the
institution. Informed sources at the university revealed that the
suspect, said to have strong links in the committee constituted by
management to coordinate students’ inter-faculty movement every academic
session, used his vantage position to compel the female student to pay
N150,000 to approve her request for a switch from the Faculty of Arts to
the Law faculty.
It was gathered that the student, who could not immediately raise the
money, following pressure mounted on her by the lecturer, reported to
another lecturer, who decried the planned extortion and encouraged her
to formally lodge a complaint with the higher authority in the
institution. Following the advice, the student played along and called
the lecturer that she could only raise N100, 000, which she was promptly
directed to pay into a certain account given her by the lecturer.
Luck, however, ran against the lecturer when he called the girl’s
mobile phone, asking her to discontinue the bank arrangement and
instead, to bring the money to him in his office, just when she was
going to pay the money into the bank account earlier given to her.
Sources told Daily Sun that no sooner that the female student delivered
the marked money to the lecturer than the alerted personnel from the
security unit swooped on the unsuspecting lecturer and handed him over
to the police.
A search in the lecturer’s office by the university security
personnel was said to have led to the discovery of a list of 18
students, including the female student who paid the N100, 000.00. When
contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Harrison
Osarenren, confirmed the report, saying “with the arrest, we will try
and rid the system of bad eggs.”
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