By Gabriel Dike, Lagos
The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Oye (FUOYE), Ekiti State, Prof Abayomi Sunday Fasina, was on Thursday arrested by agents of the police’s Special Fraud Unit (SFU) on fraud allegations but was later granted administrative bail, Daily Sun has learnt.
SFU operatives had reportedly stormed the FUOYE campus with a warrant for the arrest of the Vice Chancellor but Prof Fasina was found to have fled and gone into hiding somewhere within the campus.
However, unknown to Prof Fasina, other SFU agents laid ambush and arrested him at his hideout, taking him to the Ekiti State Police Command for interrogation.
According to a source, the FUOYE VC sought for bail on self-recognition but it was refused until the registrar of the university secured an administrative bail, whereupon Fasina was released to him.
The embattled FUOYE VC was asked to report to the SFU office in Lagos on Wednesday to answer questions regarding fraud allegations against him.
Another source told Daily Sun that the fraud allegations are based on a petition against the VC by a civil society, which has accused Fasina of receiving double salaries from Ekiti State University EKSU and FUOYE.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Ekiti-based lawyer petitioned the Minister of Education and management of EKSU about the double salary payments to Prof Fasina.
EKSU management set up a panel and the committee indicted Fasina for collecting double salaries and confirmed that the embattled VC is still an EKSU staff and recommended for his recall. Despite the petitions from ASUU and the lawyer, Fasina emerged VC of FUOYE.
Prof Fasina did not respond when contacted for comment by our correspondent via phone, SMS and WhatsApp.
Speaking on his behalf, his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Wole Balogun, said the VC had assumed the SFU agents were kidnappers and had to escape. He promised to send a statement on the issue but has so far not done so as of press time.